Gone Away Like JFK
by LegitElizabethWWEFan
Summary: (AU) President Marth has been assassinated in broad daylight. It's now up to the Smash Bureau of Investigation to find the assassin- and fast. But it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary assassination. No pairings and minor real-life references, please review!
1. Prologue

**Hello there, everyone! :D Yes, I'm back with a brand new _Super Smash Bros_. fanfic. It's unlike anything I've ever written, and I'm super excited.**

**I'm starting this fanfic with a prologue, so this is what this is. The first official chapter will be uploaded next week, and new chapters will be uploaded every Thursday, unless other circumstances force me to postpone said update.**

**Just to be clear, this fanfic is set in an AU where Marth is the president of Smashville, a made up city where all Smashers live. The SBI- AKA the Smash Bureau of Investigation- is extremely similar to the FBI, and those in the SBI are Smashers. NO ONE is there "regular selves"- for example, Marth is not the Hero King from his world. I will try my damnest to not be OOC, but I do apologize if anyone is too OOC for your liking.**

**Also, just to be clear: this fanfic is NOT actually about the assassination of John F. Kennedy. There may be some minor similarities to this fanfic and the real-life assassination, but I assure you that they will be vastly different. The title of this fanfic is just a song lyric from a leaked Lana Del Rey song called _JFK._ I hope that clears up any confusion.**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**Anyways, please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

President Marth adjusted the collar of his white button-down shirt. Today was the day of his speech on gun control, and he wanted to look perfect. He didn't want to look like a stuffy politician; he wanted to look like a regular Smasher, one of his people. After all, what good would it be to look stiffly formal if the people of Smashville were uncomfortable by it?

Anyways, as Marth made sure that his outfit was perfect, someone knocked on the door to his room.

"Who is it?"

"Just me."

Marth smiled. "Come in, love."

Caeda- his wife and the First Lady of Smashville- entered the room. She spun around to show off the outfit she'd chosen for today- a yellow floral dress, a thin white cardigan, and a pair of nude pointed-toe heels.

"Well? Do I look okay?" she asked apprehensively.

"No," Marth answered, "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," Caeda replied. She felt her cheeks turn red at the compliment, prompting Marth to kiss her head.

"Don't be shy. You always look beautiful, love."

"I believe you. I just want to look my best for today's speech. I know it's your speech, but-"

Marth silenced his wife with a passionate kiss. When they broke apart, he had a serious yet loving expression on his face.

"It's alright, love. Are you ready to go?"

"I am," Caeda said. "Are you?"

"Yes. Let's go, shall we?"

Caeda nodded. "Yes, please."

The couple exited their room hand in hand. When they got to the exit of the Parliament House, they were greeted by Captain Falcon and the rest of the Smash Secret Service.

"Good morning, Mr. President. Good morning, First Lady."

"Greetings, Captain Falcon. Are the vehicles ready?" Marth asked.

"Yes, although I'm afraid we had to make a change."

"Oh? What's wrong?"

"One of the vans wouldn't start this morning," Captain Falcon explained. "We've taken it to get fixed, but it won't be ready until tomorrow. There's still one van that works, but the only other car available is a convertible."

"Caeda and I will ride in the convertible," Marth said.

"Are you sure, Mr. President?" SS Agent Shulk questioned. "I don't think that's a smart idea."

"I second that," fellow agent Link added. "Yours and the First Lady's safety are most important to us."

Marth glanced at his wife. "What would you be most comfortable with?"

"It's a lovely day today. Why don't we go in the convertible?" Caeda suggested.

"Then it's settled! We'll go in the convertible. One of you can sit in the passenger seat."

"I will," Captain Falcon said.

"Thank you, Falcon. I appreciate it."

"Just doing my job, Mr. President."

* * *

The drive to the auditorium where Marth had to go to deliver the speech was about an hour away from his residence. Luckily, traffic was fairly clear, with the car having to make only a couple of stops.

Caeda's eyes drifted off to the sky. It wasn't all that early in the morning, so the sun was out for everyone to see. Not a single cloud interrupted the clear blue sky, making her smile. Such a clear day was rare in April; it was known to rain almost daily this time of year, so a clear sunny day was a day to truly appreciate it.

She was suddenly drawn out of her thoughts by a hand touching her right thigh. By the time she looked at her husband, he had begun to trace small circles with his thumb on her dress.

"I love you," Caeda said abruptly.

She was surprised by her saying this the way she had. She had said those three simple yet powerful words to Marth on more than one occasion, and each time she had meant it. But that last "I love you" felt… different. Caeda felt as though she _had_ to say it to him right then and there, no excuses. She would never complain about such a thing, but it did make her feel slightly uneasy.

"I love you too, beautiful."

Caeda smiled softly at her husband. She then grabbed his hand and held it in her lap. They weren't one for PDA, so this would be the extent of her showing affection. Marth squeezing her hand was his response, making her grin.

_BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!_

The sound shattered the tranquility of the morning. The car the couple were in began to speed off while the screams of civilians filled the air.

"Marth?!" Caeda shrieked.

She looked beside her, and screamed at Marth's bloody body. He was bleeding from his head, back, and chest from what she could see, and blood spatter had gotten on her dress. She was quick to check herself for any injuries, but none were found.

Marth was the only person to get shot.

"We're driving to the hospital as fast as we can," said the driver, Little Mac.

"STEP ON IT!" Caeda screamed. "Marth's dying!"

Captain Falcon was already on the phone with 911, explaining the situation to the dispatcher. He had passed Caeda the shirt off his back so she could desperately try to stop the bleeding. She alternated between the three areas she saw blood coming from.

"Marth, please say something!" she begged.

"Caeda…"

"Stay awake! We're almost at the hospital!"

The drive to the hospital felt like it was taking forever when in reality, it only took less than five minutes. Little Mac and Captain Falcon grabbed Marth and dragged him into the E.R. The admitting nurse was quick to rush the trio to the appropriate area. Caeda followed far behind.

"This is the President of Smashville!" Captain Falcon explained. "You have to help him!"

"You're joking, right? This isn't the president!" Dr. Mario replied. "This man looks like him, but it can't really be him!"

Caeda entered the operating room with a hardened glare. She opened her mouth to identify herself and her husband, but it turned out to not be necessary.

"Oh my God… this is the real thing," he muttered.

Dr. Mario ushered them out, and let a team of nurses and doctors in to begin emergency surgery.

But just half an hour later, Dr. Mario exited the room. He looked heartbroken and angry all at once, confirming everyone's worst fears.

"I'm so sorry, Miss… but Marth didn't survive. We did everything we could to save him, but his wounds were just too grave. I'm so sorry."

Caeda collapsed and began to cry harder than she'd ever cried before. Captain Falcon and Little Mac moved her into a private room so she could mourn without anyone jeering at her. Once she calmed down, she asked to see her husband alone. Dr. Mario gave her the green light to do so, and she was inside almost immediately.

"The SBI's gonna be all over this," Captain Falcon said.

"So will the damn media," Little Mac noted. "There's gonna be a media frenzy to find out every last detail."

"Keep quiet for now," Captain Falcon instructed. "Don't say shit about what's happened. I'll make a phone call to _SNN_ to get them to make a death announcement. No details will be given, other than that the president was shot and brought to the hospital, where he died. This is going to be huge news as it is- there's no reason to make it a bigger spectacle than it already will be. Got it?"

"You have my word," Little Mac replied.

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed the prologue of this fanfic. :)**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 1! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey there, guys! I want to apologize for not uploading this earlier. I was writing and rewriting this like crazy because I wanted it to be excellent. 8 pages and 3170 words later (that's all without author's notes taken into consideration), I'm finally happy with the first chapter of this fanfic! I hope you guys feel as though the wait was worth it. :)**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**Anyways, please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

"Snake."

SBI Senior Supervisory Special Agent Snake glanced up from the paperwork that rested messily on his desk. His eyes settled on his colleague, SBI Communications Liaison Lucina.

"Good morning, Lucina," he greeted. "What can I do for you?"

"The Smash Secret Service called, Sir," Lucina replied. "President Marth has just been assassinated."

Snake was taken aback by the abruptness of the news. He sat back in his seat and tried to absorb it as well as he could.

"Where's the rest of the team?" he asked after a moment of silence came and went.

"Everyone is already in the briefing room, Sir. We're all waiting for you. I did call you, but you never picked up."

Confused, Snake grabbed his phone out of his pocket. Sure enough, Lucina had called him minutes earlier. He turned the volume up on his phone's ringer and cleared his throat.

"Right. Sorry about that. Let's go."

He followed Lucina out of his office, and into the briefing room.

"Sorry for not coming in earlier," he said to the rest of the SBI team. He grabbed a seat and gave everyone a small wave.

"It's fine," Unit Chief Ike replied with a nod. "Let's get started."

Lucina handed everyone a brown file folder of paper that contained information of their newest case. She then walked over to the projector screen and started it up.

"At 8:40 this morning, President Marth was shot four times while he and his wife, First Lady Caeda, were on their way to Carter's Hall. The driver drove to the hospital, where the President died at 9:12 AM during emergency surgery."

"Was an autopsy performed?" Supervisory Special Agent Rob asked.

"The medical examiner is performing it as we speak," Lucina answered.

"Was the First Lady shot?" Supervisory Special Agent Luigi asked.

"No. Also in the car at the time of the shooting was their driver Mac, and the head of the Smash Secret Service, Captain Falcon. Neither one of them were shot. They're all on their way to the local police precinct for questioning."

"Clearly, the President was the intended target," Supervisory Special Agent Samus said. "The UnSub could've shot everyone in the car, but he didn't."

"I take it the media's already all over the story?" Snake piped up.

The projector screen changed from a PowerPoint slide to a clip from _SNN_, where news anchors and legal experts were analyzing what little details they knew about the assassination. Lucina muted the show when the anchor started talking about the President's achievements.

"The news broke less than ten minutes ago," she revealed. "It's on every single news channel. Very few details have been given out by the Smash Secret Service about the assassination."

"They don't want this to be blown out of proportion," Snake noted.

"But it happened anyways because it's the President of Smashville," Rob chimed in. "Though I'm sure they saw it coming."

Ike nodded. "Yet they broke the news anyways because they had to."

"What do we know about the UnSub?" Rob asked.

"Virtually nothing. No witnesses have come forward, and it's unlikely any will," Lucina said in a grim manner.

"Until the UnSub's caught, no one is going to come forward," Luigi remarked. "This isn't good at all."

"The shooting was caught on camera," Lucina pointed out.

"All I need is the footage on my computer, and I'll dissect it in no time," SBI Technical Analyst Robin said.

"Good," Ike replied with a nod. "We all need to work fast. Lucina, work with Robin on analyzing the security footage. Another set of eyes is always helpful."

Lucina looked over at Robin. "Are you alright with that?"

"Absolutely! The more the merrier."

Ike continued speaking. "Luigi and Rob, I want you two to go to the crime scene to analyze it. Go over every little thing. Snake, you attend the autopsy. Once you find out everything, call me with the details. Samus, you and I will interview Captain Falcon, Mac, and the First Lady."

"Sounds good," Samus replied.

"We need to solve this case fast," Snake said. "Time is of the essence."

* * *

Luigi and Rob arrived to the taped-off crime scene. They saw a blonde hair, blue eyed female reporter speaking into a camera about the president's assassination. She spotted the SBI agents and ran over to them.

"Do you two have anything you'd like to say?" she asked.

"No comment," Rob and Luigi replied in union.

Before the reporter could grill them more, they crossed the police tape so that they were now on the crime scene. The car that President Marth and company had been sitting in at the time of the shooting was long gone. It had been taken to a crime garage by lab technicians to be processed for evidence. This left the two SBI agents with several feet of pavement and a couple blood droplets, but little else.

"So the President was shot four times," Rob mused thoughtfully.

"That's an unusual amount of gunshot wounds," Luigi pointed out. "Usually, the UnSub would just fire one shot and aim for the chest or head."

"Maybe he knew his aim was bad, so he fire more than once shot to make sure he hit his target," Rob suggested.

Luigi wasn't convinced. "That doesn't make a lot of sense. An UnSub confident enough to shoot the president of Smashville wouldn't feel the need to fire multiple rounds at the victim. He'd only fire one shot."

"Hmm… that's a very good point. But now that begs the question: _why_ did he fire more than one shot?" Rob questioned.

"It's hard to tell right now. Hopefully, Snake will be able to give us more details once the autopsy's complete."

"I hope so. The circumstances of this case puzzle me the more I think about it."

* * *

Samus was alone with First Lady Caeda. She no longer had her dress and cardigan on because of the blood that had gotten on it from the shooting. She now had on a plain black T-shirt and blue jeans so her previous outfit could be processed for evidence.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Samus said in a kind voice.

Caeda dried her eyes and sighed. "It's my fault he'd dead."

"First Lady-"

"I suggested that we drive in that damn car! Why? Why did I do such a foolish thing?!"

After her small outburst, more tears poured down Caeda's cheeks. She dried them as best she could and tried to collect herself.

"You cannot blame yourself for what's happened, First Lady," Samus said. "This could've happened even if you were in an SUV. Don't blame yourself for your husband's death, and don't let others accuse you of being responsible for causing his death."

Caeda nodded.

"I need you to tell me what happened," Samus added. "Do you think you can do that?"

"Yes," Caeda said.

Samus pulled out a pad of paper and a black pen so she could write down everything. "Just take me through your day."

"Marth and I got ready for the day," Caeda began. "We were about to head out when Captain Falcon- the head of the Smash Secret Service- told us that one of the SUVS wasn't starting. So there were two other cars available- the other SUV, and the convertible."

"What did Marth say?"

"He insisted on the convertible. Shulk and Link- they're also SSS agents- didn't think it was a good idea. Marth asked for my opinion, so I suggested the convertible. It was a beautiful day, so I figured, 'Why not?' Captain Falcon insisted on sitting in the passenger seat, which we were fine with. The drive itself was fine… until…"

Upon thinking of what had happened, a violent sob left Caeda suddenly.

"We can stop the interview, if you want," Samus said.

"NO!" Caeda shrieked. "You and the SBI need this, right?"

Samus gave her a wary look, but she didn't offer up any resistance again.

"I'm sorry, please continue."

"All of a sudden, I heard four loud bangs," Caeda said. "I saw Marth lying there… shot. I looked to see if I had been shot, but I wasn't. I didn't see the shooter, either. Little Mac, our driver, drove to the hospital as fast as he could. Captain Falcon ripped off his shirt so I could use it to apply pressure to Marth's wounds.

"We got to the hospital, and some nurses practically threw my husband on a gurney. He was taken in, while I stayed back to give the admitting nurse information on him. When I finally made it to where Marth was, the doctor was arguing with Captain Falcon. He didn't believe that the man who had been shot was actually Marth. But when he saw me appear, he mumbled something under his breath and raced into the operating room."

Caeda paused to take a deep breath. Tears filled her eyes again, but she really didn't care at this point. She just continued to speak

"After a while… the doctor came back. He said that… Marth's wounds were too grave… He couldn't be saved."

A fresh batch of tears began to fell from her eyes. She grabbed another tissue and used it to vigorously wipe them away.

"I lost it. I fell down and cried so damn hard. Captain Falcon and Little Mac moved me to a room away from everything so I could cry in private. Once I calmed down, I was asked if I wanted to see Marth for the last time. I said yes, and the doctor took me to him. He looked so peaceful… almost as if he was asleep. But I knew better."

Samus finished writing Caeda's statement before setting her things down to comfort the mourning woman. She grabbed her hands and held them tight.

"First Lady, the SBI and I will do everything we can to find the man responsible. We will get him off the streets one way or another," she said. "I promise."

Caeda nodded silently. She then embraced Samus and cried as hard as she could.

* * *

Ike watched the head of the SSS and the driver bicker from outside the room. He wasn't in there yet, so he couldn't actually make out what was being said between them. But he could tell from their faces and body language that they were arguing about something serious. There was no doubt in Ike's mind that they were arguing about the assassination, and about who did what wrong.

_Well, here it goes_, he thought as he finally entered the room.

"Why didn't you convince him to go in the damn SUV?!" Little Mac exclaimed.

"I tried!" Captain Falcon shouted. "But he insisted on the other fucking car!"

"Oh, so you're blaming _him_, now! You're blaming our dead President! You bastard!"

"I never said that!"

"_Enough!_"

The two men stared at Ike, dumbfounded by his outburst. They looked like young siblings who Mother had caught them fighting over a toy that they both wanted.

"Sit down, both of you," Ike said firmly.

Little Mac sat on a couch, while Captain Falcon found a seat in a different chair.

"Your arguing isn't solving anything," Ike added. "If anything, it's making things worse. Now, can I interview you both at the same time without one of you trying to beat up the other?"

"Yes," Little Mac answered.

"Yes," Captain Falcon echoed. "I'm sorry, who are you again?"

"SBI Unit Chief Ike. My colleague, Supervisory Special Agent Samus, is currently interviewing the First Lady. I'd like to ask you to a couple of questions, if that's alright."

Both Captain Falcon and Little Mac nodded.

Ike readied himself to take notes. "Good. Let's get started then. So, what do you remember from today?"

"I got up at about six to make sure that the cars were working," Captain Falcon replied. "I noticed that the one SUV's headlights were on. I ran over to shut them off, and then tried to start the car. But it didn't start."

"Who used the vehicle last?" Ike asked.

"The President did," Little Mac revealed. "I hate to say it given the circumstances, but it's true! He used it last night so he and the First Lady could go out for dinner. I guess he must've accidentally hit the notch that keeps the headlights on. It's in a weird spot, so it's an easy thing to do."

"I managed to get the SUV towed, but was told that it wouldn't be back until later that day," Captain Falcon piped up. "I told the President about it when I saw him. I also told him that the only cars that were left to use were the other SUV, and the convertible. He and the First Lady insisted on going in the convertible."

"Where was the President going?" Ike asked.

"He was going to deliver a speech on gun control," Captain Falcon explained. "You've heard he wanted even stricter gun laws for Smashville, and that he was going to use executive action to get it done. There's a possible motive for ya."

Ike was sure to make a note of that.

Little Mac picked up where Captain Falcon left off. "The drive was good until we heard gunshots. I heard screaming coming from the First Lady, and from people that were nearby. I just stepped on the gas and drove to the hospital as fast as I could. I don't think I even blinked until we got there."

"I gave the First Lady my shirt so that she could try to stop the bleeding," Captain Falcon said. The nurses rushed Marth in, and we followed him as quickly as we could. The doctor tried to save him, but…"

A heartbroken Captain Falcon stopped speaking so he could wipe away the tears that filled his eyes. Just thinking back to what happened made him emotional- and that said a lot because he didn't consider himself to be an emotional person.

"We both failed him," Little Mac said. "We failed to save the President. I'm ashamed."

"Look," Ike interrupted, "I need you two to stop blaming yourselves _and _each other. It's not going to help us find the UnSub."

"UnSub?"

"It's short for Unknown Subject. Listen: I need you two to focus on protecting the First Lady until we catch this guy. We'll send police officers from the local precinct to the President's House as added protection, should the UnSub try to assassinate the First Lady."

"Thank you," Captain Falcon replied.

"One more question: can you describe the shooter?"

Little Mac shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't see him at all. I was too busy driving."

Captain Falcon's answer was similar. "I never saw him. All that mattered to me at that time was trying to save the President. I apologize for not being more helpful."

"No, don't. You both were very helpful," Ike replied. "Thank you for your answering these questions. Once again, I'm sorry for your loss."

With that, he bid the gentlemen goodbye before leaving the men alone. He noticed Samus waiting for him in the middle of the two rooms.

"What did the First Lady say?" he asked.

"The one SUV didn't work, so she and the President chose to drive in the convertible. They were driving for a little bit before they heard four shots. The driver got to the hospital, where the doctor didn't believe him and Captain Falcon when they told him that it was the President of Smashville. Once the First Lady showed up, he believed them and started emergency surgery. But the President died on the operating table," Samus revealed.

"That's consistent with what the driver and the SSS agent said," Ike replied. "The driver, Little Mac- that's what he goes by- said that the President used one SUV to drive go out to dinner last night with his wife. Captain Falcon also said that when he went outside to inspect the vehicles, that SUV's headlights were still on. He shut them off, and found that it wouldn't start. That's why the convertible was a suggestion in the first place."

"Do you think the first SUV was tampered with so that the President would have to use it as transportation to the speech?" Samus asked.

"Hmm… I don't know. We still need to interview the remaining SSS agents. We'll do that, and then we'll see if we can search the first SUV."

"That sounds good to me."

* * *

Snake studied the President's body carefully. The autopsy had concluded just before he'd shown up, but the medical examiner- a light blonde woman named Dr. Rosalina- was still at the coroner's office. When Snake identified himself as an SBI agent, she happily let him in to view the body.

"So, he was shot four times?" he asked.

"Correct," Dr. Rosalina replied. "Three shots hit his chest, and the fourth struck the crown of his head. Only one of the gunshot wounds to his chest was through and through. The others stayed in his body, causing a great amount of damage. There was more internal damage done to him than I first expected."

"Oh?"

Dr. Rosalina grabbed a tray that contained the bullet she'd retrieved from Marth's body during the autopsy. Rather than regular bullets, Snake saw that each bullet was split wide open, resembling small metal flowers. He recognized the bullets instantly.

"The UnSub used hollow point bullets," he muttered. "Nine millimeter, too."

"The bullet that exited his back didn't expand, of course," Dr. Rosalina added. "But those that didn't exit his body did their job. Each bullet expanded and wracked the President's internal organs horribly. He wouldn't have survived his wounds, no matter how fast he made it to the hospital."

"He was doomed the moment he was shot."

"That's what it looks like, unfortunately."

Snake pressed his lips into a thin line. "The UnSub wanted to make sure that the President died, no matter what. That explains both the multiple gunshot wounds and the hollow point bullets."

"It's so sad," Dr. Rosalina said. Her gloved hands cradled Marth's head like it was a fragile sculpture. "It's okay, love; the SBI will find the person responsible for your murder."

She stopped what she was doing to look at Snake, who now wore a confused look on his face.

"I look at the dead like they're my children," she revealed. "I can't help but want to comfort them. It's creepy, I know. But it comforts me in knowing that you and the SBI will find the President's killer."

"It's our job, Doctor," Snake said. "We'll do everything we can to capture him."

With that, he bid the medical examiner goodbye and got into his car. He grabbed his phone and immediately called Ike.

"Hey, Ike, it's Snake. Get the team to regroup at the precinct so we can go over everything. I've got some interesting facts from the M.E. that the whole team needs to hear."

"Sure. I'll let everyone know," Ike said. "Thank you."

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**Starryskys102: **_**Thank you! I've never seen anything like this on this site, so I decided to write it myself. Glad you liked it so far!**

_**EchoMoonHuntress:**_** "Interesting" is a great word. I'm taking it as a compliment! :) I couldn't imagine _not_ having Caeda as Marth's wife. I mean, she's in wife in _Fire Emblem_, so it just makes sense. Always respect the source material: that's what I always say. I'm doing a once a week update because I need a timeline to work with for updating my fanfics. It's a quirk of mine, I guess. I hope the wait was worth it!**

_**Guest:**_** Hello! Nice to hear from you! :) Poor Marth is right! I'm a horrible person, I know. Anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

_**Inuyasha Armin Scarlet:**_** Sorry to hurt your feelings! Maybe in my next _Super Smash Bros._ fanfic I'll treat Marth nice... MAYBE. We'll see about that, let's put it that way. LOL, glad you liked the prologue!**

_**MahNati:**_** LMAO, that made me laugh. I wasn't trying to make the Smash Secret Service agents hot, I swear. I'm so happy to hear that you love this fanfic so far! Don't worry: you'll find out eventually.**

_**F-ZeroSamus:**_** Yay! I'm so happy to hear that! I wouldn't compare this fanfic to JFK's assassination, if I were you. I don't want to spoil too much, but I will say this: try your damnest to keep an open mind about this fanfic.**

_**pk-smash-attack:**_** Thank you! I thought making Marth the president would work because he's a King. Captain Falcon, Shulk, and Link are the Smash Secret Service, just to clear up any confusion. I thought adding Caeda was a nice touch. There won't be any other _Fire Emblem_characters part of the government. I'm sorry if that disappointed you. I'm glad you liked it, though!**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 2! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys! So chapter 2 is finally here, and I'm happy that you guys didn't have to wait until the middle of the day for it to be uploaded. Well, I wrote the chapter yesterday, and spent over an hour editing it. I'm damn proud of this chapter, to say the least. :)**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**Please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

"Do you have any leads on the assassin?"

"Why hasn't the SBI commented on our late president's assassination?"

"The public deserves to know what's going on!"

If Lucina had it her way, she would just tell all the reporters to get the fuck out of her sight. But of course, she couldn't do that because she'd lose her job. So she painted on her best patient-looking face and cleared her throat.

"It's too early to say," she explained in an unusually calm voice. "The SBI have not yet named any suspects, and we don't plan to until the evidence points to one. Also, the SBI will eventually hold a press conference, but it won't be for quite a while. Thank you."

Content, Lucina turned on her heel and went back in SBI Headquarters. The reporters called out for more information, but she ignored them completely.

It wasn't until she got into Robin's office that she let out a frustrated sigh. She plopped down on an office chair, exhausted.

"Rough crowd?" Robin asked.

"Ha! That's an understatement," Lucina said. "I'm convinced the media thinks that they're entitled to information!"

"Better you than me. I'd probably scream at them to go away."

"Gee, thanks. That's _so_ helpful. Can we just focus back on the security footage, please?"

Robin giggled. "But of course!"

Lucina rolled herself closer to the main computer and her friend. She made sure that she had a clear view of the computer screen. The footage then began to play.

The coloured footage was rather grainy, and it was also quite short. It only captured the President getting shot, and the car speeding off. Nothing unusual appeared after that.

"Damn it," Robin muttered.

"Aren't there more cameras at the scene?" Lucina asked.

"Afraid not. According to crime technicians, that was the only surveillance camera there."

Lucina groaned. "Call the team with the bad news."

Robin did so, making sure the Lucina could also hear the other end of the phone call.

"Hey, baby girl. Got anything good for me?"

"Oh, Rob... I wish I did, handsome," Robin said. She tried to sound flirty, but there was a presence of disappointment in her voice.

"Why is that?" Rob asked.

"The security footage yielded nothing new. All Lucina and I could see was the assassination taking place, but nothing else. There were no other cameras at the crime scene."

"Ugh, damn it."

"Sorry, love. I wish I had good news for you."

"I know you do, doll. I'll let the team know. If we need anything, one of us will call."

"Mmm… hopefully you."

"Oh, Gods."

Rob chuckled. "Hey, Lucina."

"Hi. I heard everything, you know."

"Oh, I know. I just don't care. Sorry."

Lucina rolled her eyes. "Goodbye, Rob."

Rob chuckled even as the line went dead. At this point, Robin was laughing as well.

"I'll never understand how you two can talk like that," Lucina said.

"What I can say? We have good chemistry. And we both know that it's nothing serious," Robin replied.

That response didn't stop Lucina from rolling her eyes again. But Robin didn't mind it one bit. She just laughed it off without a care.

* * *

"I take it that was Robin?"

Rob nodded. "Yeah. The UnSub wasn't on the security footage."

Luigi scowled. "Damn, that sucks."

"No kidding. Ike isn't gonna like hearing that."

"You got that right," Luigi said as he killed the engine on their SUV.

The two agents exited their vehicle. The reporter from earlier was outside the precinct, reporting on the assassination yet again. She saw the agents and ran towards them in the hopes of finally getting a statement.

"Agents! Can you please comment on the President's assassination?" she questioned anxiously.

"No comment," Rob and Luigi replied in union once again.

They quickly entered the precinct and went to the conference room. Ike, Snake, and Samus were already there.

"I was just talking to Robin a couple minutes ago," Rob said. "The security footage didn't have the UnSub on there."

"I figured as much," Ike confessed. "The UnSub seemed to be smart enough to not get caught on camera."

"I agree," Samus piped up.

"What did the autopsy reveal, Snake?" Luigi asked.

"I'd like to get Robin on the phone first, if that's okay," Snake replied.

"I'll call her," Ike offered.

He grabbed his phone out and dialled her number on speakerphone.

"Hello, fellow badasses," she greeted in a playful voice. "How may I help you lovely agents?"

"It's about the autopsy," Snake said.

"Lay it on me."

"The President was shot four times, which one bullet going through and through. The UnSub used hollow point bullets, which expand upon impact. The other bullets gave the President fatal wounds. I have the report here, and I'll email it to you, Robin."

"Thank you. Now let me guess: you want me to find out where the local gun stores are?"

Snake grinned. "Damn, you're good."

"Hey, I'm just doing my job," Robin said.

"Look for gun stores close to the crime scene," Samus added. "The UnSub will definitely want to stay close to this area of Smashville."

There was a brief pause, with only the sound of fast typing heard from the other end. But soon, Robin responded.

"There are two gun stores in that area of Smashville that sells hollow point bullets," she revealed. "I just sent the addresses to your phones."

"Thanks, Robin," Samus replied.

"And one more thing," Ike chimed in.

"Yes, Sir?" Robin asked.

"Look for the auto shop where the President's other SUV was taken to. I just sent the details of the vehicle to Lucina's phone."

"I got your message," Lucina said.

"I'll do it, but that might take a while," Robin admitted. "I'll call you when I find it."

"Thanks, Robin," Ike replied.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, Sir," she said before promptly hanging up.

"We should split up and each go to a gun store," Samus suggested.

"I agree," Ike said. "Samus, you and Snake go to Smashville Gun Shop. Luigi, you and I will go to Ye Ol' Gun Shoppe. Rob, stay here and help the police with the tip line. They're already stretched out as it is, so they'll appreciate the help."

"Sure," Rob replied. "If Robin calls me about the car, I'll call you to let you know what she said."

Ike nodded. "Let's go, everyone."

* * *

Samus was quite glad that she didn't end up coming to this gun store alone. It's not that she couldn't handle herself; she definitely could. But this gun store was in a fairly rough part of Smashville, which made her quite uneasy. So having Snake by her side gave her the peace of mind that she needed.

Anyways, the two agents entered the gun store. They found a man standing behind the counter, reading a pro-gun magazine.

"Are you the owner?" Samus asked.

The man moved the magazine away from his face. "Yeah. Who the hell are you guys?"

"I'm Supervisory Special Agent Samus, and this is Senior Supervisory Special Agent Snake. We need to ask you some questions."

"Fine." The owner tucked the magazine in a shelf behind the counter. "Call me Ganondorf, or Ganon."

"We need to know if anyone purchased hollow point bullets recently," Snake said.

"Nope. We're sold out of 'em. We haven't had a shipment of those bullets in over a month."

To prove his point, Ganondorf used his computer to pull up what was shipped to the store. Sure enough, the last shipment of hollow point bullets had come in a month and a half ago. He also showed the agents the stock of hollow point bullets, which sat at a big fat zero.

"Has anyone purchased a nine millimeter handgun?" Samus questioned.

Ganondorf shook his head. "I work here every day, and no one's purchased that kind of gun in months. Ever since that damn Ye Ol' Gun Shoppe opened, business has been slow."

"Alright, thank you," Snake said.

The agents left the gun store so they could finally head back to the precinct.

* * *

"Yeah, we sell them," the owner of Ye Ol' Gun Shoppe, Whitman admitted. "Haven't sold any since September, though."

Ike nodded. "How did the customer pay?"

"Cash. Debit was down that day, so he couldn't have used debit or credit even if wanted to."

"Did he _want_ to pay in cash?" Luigi asked.

"Yeah, which is odd," Whitman answered. "People never pay cash here, unless they have to. And even then, hardly anyone does it."

"Do you remember what the customer looked like?" Ike inquired.

"I'm afraid not. I wasn't working that month 'cause I was recovering from back surgery. But my wife was there. I'll go get here."

Whitman went into the back room, and reappeared with a dark-haired woman. He then went into the back room.

"Hello, agents," she greeted kindly. "How may I help?"

"Your husband said that you were working here back in September," Ike explained. "We have a couple questions for you, if that's alright."

"Of course. My name's Winnie. What do you need to know?"

"A customer purchased hollow point bullets here at the time," Luigi said. "We just need to know if you remember what the customer looked like."

Winnie frowned. "Hmm… he had light skin and blue eyes. He had on a red plaid shirt, blue jeans, and a black knit hat. I couldn't see his hair. He was nice. He didn't talk much, but he didn't say anything unsettling. I don't remember his name."

Ike wrote her statement down. "That's fine. Did he ever buy a nine millimeter hand gun?"

"I couldn't tell ya, but I know he didn't buy one that day. He only bought bullets."

The agents thanked her, and then left the gun store. They got in their car, where Ike called Samus.

"SSA Samus."

"Samus, it's Ike. What did you get on your end?"

"The owner said he hasn't had hollow point bullets in stock for a month and a half. Oh, and no one's purchased a nine millimeter gun recently," Samus revealed. "It's a dead end here. What did you two get?"

"Hollow point bullets were purchased here back in September. The customer was a white blue-eyed man wearing jeans, a knit hat, and a red plaid shirt. The owner couldn't remember his name." Ike replied. "That's the description I got. The owner's confident that he didn't buy a nine millimeter gun at the time."

"We have little to go on, yet the media wants a statement from the SBI," Samus said. "What the hell are we gonna do?"

"I have no idea," Ike admitted. He paused to let out a long, exasperated sigh. "Let's meet at the precinct so we can go over what we do know."

"Sure," Samus replied. "See you soon."

* * *

Rob sat by a phone, waiting for a tip to come in. To pass the time, he worked on a crossword puzzle. He was trying to figure out the last word when his cell phone rang. He set his pencil down to take the call, smiling when he saw who it was.

"Hello, Miss Tech Genius… and Robin."

"Ha ha," Robin said in a deadpan voice.

"Good one," Lucina laughed.

"Thanks," Rob replied.

"If this was a regular case, I would've hung up and called Ike," Robin revealed. "But since this is the assassination of President Marth, I won't do that."

"I appreciate that. What do you got for me?"

"I managed to track down the SUV that wouldn't start. It's currently at Dunban's Auto Shop. The SSS was telling the truth; the car's battery died. I think it was most likely from the headlights being left on the night before."

"Does it look like it's been tampered with?"

"Nope. I spoke to the owner, and he said that the car definitely wasn't tampered with."

Rob mulled this over. "Can you please do me a favour?"

"Of course, you handsome man. What do you need?"

Rob looked around him quickly. When he saw that no one was paying attention to him, he finally spoke.

"I want you to do a background check on the President and the First Lady. Hell, even do one on the SSS and the President's driver."

"Oh?" Robin was surprised by his request.

"What are you thinking?" Lucina asked, who was equally surprised.

"A background check on everyone could give us a possible motive," Rob explained. "It'll also give us perspective on the President's life without having to question everyone. Doing that will make them feel like suspects, even though that's not the case."

"That's gonna take a while," Robin said, clearly wary. "Are you sure?"

"Definitely."

"Well… alright. I'll do it."

"Thanks. Oh, and before you go, I need your help on a crossword question."

Robin laughed. "Oh Gods, not this again. What's the clue?"

"'Ten letters- crater creator'."

"Hmm… 'Ten letters- crater creator'…"

"Arctangent."

Rob chuckled as he wrote down the answer. "Damn, she's good. Alright, I'll talk to you two later."

"Thanks for stealing my thunder," Robin said after hanging up.

Lucina shrugged. "That's payback for making me listen to you and Rob sexually harass each other."

"It's consensual, so it's not sexual harassment," Robin pointed out matter of factly.

"Does it look like I care?" Lucina asked.

Robin pretended to think it over. "Maybe you do. Maybe you're just jealous."

"Oh Gods no. I'm not jealous at all. You couldn't be more wrong."

The women laughed it off before getting back to work.

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**EchoMoonHuntress: **_**LOL, sorry about that. I wasn't able to write that chapter ahead of time, which annoyed the hell out of me. I thought Rosalina would make for a good M.E. Hey, they need titles 'cause they're part of the freaking SBI! LMAO, I'm glad you enjoyed it!**

_**Inuyasha Armin Scarlet:**_** You'd be right! But I looked up the term; apparently, it is (or was) used by the FBI in place of suspect. I thought, "What the hell? I'll use it." Yeah, I feel horrible for Caeda, too. But don't hold your breath- this is gonna be a pretty long fanfic.**

_**pk-smash-attack:**_** I'm so glad you liked it! I must admit, I was a little nervous about writing such a long chapter. But after seeing how well received it was, I think I'm gonna stick with it.**

_**F-ZeroSamus:**_** Like I said, it's based off a lot of real-life murders. I'll list them all at the end of the fanfic. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it!**

_**MahNati:**_** Maybe it will; maybe it won't. I'll never tell. ;D Yeah, I'm a bad human being for putting Caeda through such a hellish situation. Those kind of bullets actually exist, but they're almost never used in real murders. I always thought of Rosalina as motherly; ergo, she'd act like that if she was a medical examiner. That's just my opinion. I might have her make a few more appearances, albeit small ones. I'm so happy to hear that you liked it so far!**

_**Paradigm of Writing**_** (chapter 1): Wow, thank you! I'm beyond flattered. Glad you like it so far!**

_**Random Reviewer**_** (Guest): Thank you! As for who you did is the killer... good guesses. That's all I'll say...**

_**MaskedGamer:**_** Thank you very much! :)**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 3! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys! I apologize for not uploading this earlier. I had writer's block when writing this chapter, and of course, I wanted it to be perfect. But I'm really happy with how it came out, and that matters a lot to me.**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**Please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

Ike was panicking internally. Last night, he crafted a statement for Lucina to read to the media, and he wasn't sure if it was good. It wasn't going to answer questions the media- or the citizens of Smashville- had. Needless to say, it was far from an ideal situation.

The sound of his cell phone ringing jolted him out of his depressing thoughts. He grabbed it out of his pocket, and saw that it was Lucina.

"Ike," he said.

"Hey Ike, it's me," Lucina replied. "I got your statement."

"I know, I know, it's a shitty excuse of a statement. But I didn't know what to write," Ike interrupted, annoyed. "If I knew how to make it look better, I would."

"I know," Lucina said. "I wasn't calling to complain; I just wanted you to know that I got it."

"Oh… I'm sorry. I just know that you hate being vague to the media."

"That's true, but what can be done? Once more information is found, I'll tell the media immediately. But we _need_ them to hear something from our end. You know that."

Ike sighed. "Yes, I know. Thank you, Lucina. Just promise me one thing?"

"What might that be?"

"Don't answer any questions. We can't hold a proper press conference right now. The case is still relatively new, and we don't want to misinform the public. I think I even wrote that in the statement."

"You did. I'm looking at it now, and it has that. It's not the same wording, but it's certainly the same thing."

"Good," Ike said. "The team and I will be watching. I'll call you once it's over if I have any concerns."

"No problem. You have my gratitude," Lucina replied.

* * *

The rest of the SBI was in the main room of the precinct, waiting for their next move. Ike appeared from the conference room, looking like he wanted to bang his head on the wall.

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Snake said in a gruff voice. "It's not your fault."

"We need the public's help badly," Ike remarked, completely ignoring his co-worker's words. "We have nothing."

"I can work on a geographic profile," Luigi suggested.

"Good idea. Samus, do you mind helping him?"

"Not at all," she said.

Once the two agents went to a separate room to work on that, Ike focused back on Snake and Rob.

"I haven't been able to talk to the Sheriff," Ike revealed. "I'll go see if I can now."

"Sure," Snake replied. "Rob and I will work the tip line while you're gone."

"Thank you."

After Ike left, Snake began talking to one of the officers about the case. That was when Rob's phone rang.

"Hey, Robin, what 'cha got?" he said.

"Are you alone?"

Rob looked around the precinct. When he saw that Snake was distracted, he ducked into an unused office.

"I am now," he replied. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Well, I started digging into President Marth's background. It turns out that our squeaky clean president wasn't so squeaky clean," Robin answered.

"How so?" Rob asked.

"Well, I found a sealed criminal record. And since I know you're gonna ask if I unsealed it, I'll have you know that I did, indeed, unseal it. It turns out that when the President was in college, he got arrested constantly. The charges were minor: public intoxication, breaking and entering, and vandalism."

"How did they not affect his political career?"

"Because Daddy's big fat bank account also comes with a big fat complementary eraser. So every time Marth fucked up, Daddy took care of it. His criminal record was expunged, and he hasn't gotten arrested in years."

Rob nodded. "What can you tell me about everyone else?"

"I'm afraid I can't, my dear," Robin replied. "I researched the President last night, and then went home to catch some shut eye. I'm currently digging into Caeda's life, but so far, nothing."

"Keep digging," Rob said, "and call me when you have something important."

"Oh, you know I will," Robin giggled. "Later!"

Rob hung up, interested in what he had just learned about the late President. Clearly, he had had a reckless past.

"Rob."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Rob looked over and saw Ike standing in the door. He looked confused about why Rob had isolated himself from the team. But as he looked closer, he realized that Ike was also angry.

"That was Robin."

"I know," Ike said in a harsh voice. "What was that all about?"

"Yesterday I asked her to look into the President, the First Lady, the SSS, and the driver. I thought that something in their past would present as a motive," Rob explained.

Ike entered the office and shut the door behind him. "You know you're not supposed to make that call."

"But it was necessary," Rob pointed out.

"I know, but _I'm_ the one who makes that call," Ike said. "You can't make a decision like that without consulting me first."

"But what if you had never come up with it?"

Ike stepped a little closer. "Are you questioning my skills as Unit Chief?"

"I'm not questioning you. I'm just saying that you might not have thought of doing a background check."

"And why might I forget such a thing?"

"Because you don't want the SBI to be seen as _bad guys_! You don't want the media to think that we believe the President _deserved_ to die!"

Rob panted lightly after his fiery rant. His eyes were hardened, and his entire posture was stiff as a board.

Ike mirrored him, minus the fatigue from arguing. "You know me well, Rob."

"Of course I do. We trained together back when we joined the SBI. Hell, we were even roommates when you first moved to Smashville! I could profile you if you told me to."

"Well, don't do _that_. That's a little unnecessary."

Rob laughed, and then Ike laughed. Their sudden laughter made the tension disappear instantaneously. They managed to calm down a couple moments later.

"I'm sorry for going behind your back," Rob said.

Ike nodded. "Don't apologize. You were right to do that. I hadn't thought of doing that. I probably would have, though."

"This case has been stressful for everyone. I hate to say it, but I'm kind of glad that I yelled at you. I feel… better."

"Just don't do it often, or else I'll have to find a replacement."

Rob raised his eyebrows. "You're not serious… right?"

But Ike ignored his question. "Come on, let's get back to work."

"Wait! You wouldn't replace me over something so ridiculous, right? _Right_?"

* * *

"The SBI is still investigating the circumstances of the assassination of President Marth. We are exploring any and all leads present. We will not rest until we find the individual responsible for this senseless act. We are asking for the public's help in catching the killer. If you have any information that may help, please call the tip line. The number is on your TV screen. We will not be taking any questions now. Thank you."

When Lucina concluded her statement, journalists tried to get her to answer any questions. But she didn't budge; that is, until one jumped in front of her.

"Miss, you need to step out of the way," she said in a warning tone.

"It's Peach from _SBC News_," the perky broadcast journalist explained. "The public needs answers! Why won't the SBI give them any?"

Lucina gingerly bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying a nasty remark. She chose instead to walk past her and back into Robin's office.

"How did it look from your angle?" Lucina asked. "And please be honest."

Robin winked. "You were calm, cool, and collected. That's what I call a good Communications Liaison."

"Thank you, Robin. Like I say, whatever it takes."

"You're so welcome," Robin replied.

Lucina's cell suddenly rang. She excused herself so she could take it in private.

"Hey, Ike."

"Hello, Lucina. I saw you give the statement."

"And?"

"It was excellent."

Relieved to getting her boss' approval, Lucina let out a content sigh. "Thank you, Sir. Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

"Not right now," Ike said. "I'll keep you posted, though."

Lucina thanked him before hanging up. She went back into Robin's office, and saw her staring intensely at her computer.

"What is it? Did you find something else in the President's past?"

"No," Robin answered. "It's about the First Lady. You need to read _this_."

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it despite the cliffhanger. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**MaskedGamer: **_**Thank you! I'm glad you're liking it.**

_**Paradigm of Writing: **_**Oh my God... thank you! I might update more when school finally finishes, but I'm not gonna confirm anything. Glad you're enjoying it so far!**

_**pk-smash-attack: **_**They may or may not be some of my muses. I won't say 'til the end of this fanfic. Thank you so very much for your kind words!**

_**MahNati:**_** Correct! LOL, I wanted the names of the Wii Fit Trainers to sound like puns, so I went with Winnie after Winnie the Pooh, and Whitman after famous poet Walt Whitman. 2 totally different inspirations, I know. You are SUCH a bad liar! I know you loved every second of Rob &amp; Robin's flirting! :D LOL, I'm happy to hear you like it!**

_**EchoMoonHuntress:**_** Yes, it's normal. If you hadn't laughed, I would've been like, "What the hell's wrong with you?!" I wouldn't say Lucina's jealous; she just doesn't think that their flirting is necessary. I wasn't even thinking about how that line could be a pun, so you're awesome for pointing that out!**

_**Smash King24: **_**First off, I wanna thank you for reviewing this fanfic. It means the world to me! Now, to address your concerns: I made the Robins OOC intentionally 'cause I really wanted my fanfic to have a Derek Morgan/Penelope Garcia relationship between 2 of the characters. Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about. Lucina is kinda assertive, but I think it works with the job she has. I'll try to make all the characters have more unique personalities. In crime shows, the main characters' background stories trickle out throughout the seasons. It doesn't happen all at once, but is more gradual. I know I haven't used any non-human Smashers yet, but that's only because I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate them without humanizing them. I hope that answered most or all of your questions. Thanks again for reviewing!**

_**Inuyasha Armin Scarlet: **_**Yes, it's wonderful. I need some light-hearted banter in this fanfic, or else I'M gonna get depressed! I'm glad that line made you laugh. I thought it was clever. ;) Would she say such a thing in her regular universe? Absolutely not. But in this universe? You bet your ass. :)**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 4! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey there, guys! So, I'm super excited to finally have chapter 4 up for you guys to read! I know I left you all on one hell of a cliffhanger in the last chapter, so I hope I answered some or all of your questions here. :)**

**Also, I am considering updating this fanfic twice a week once the school year ends for me. I'll let you guys know come NEXT chapter.**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**Anyways, please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

Lucina walked up the steps of the Parliament House. She felt her hands shake as she did so, which annoyed her greatly. She was a member of the SBI, not a murderous UnSub who had killed the President of Smashville. She had nothing to be worried about! But it wasn't normal for civilians to visit the most important building in Smashville. She was slightly worried that a case of mistaken identity would happen.

_Oh, well_, she thought as she rang the doorbell, _here goes nothing._

A speaker located next the door suddenly turned on.

"Who's there?" a gruff voice asked.

"This is SBI Communications Liaison Lucina," Lucina explained. "I spoke to Captain Falcon on the phone about interviewing the First Lady. I was told to come here."

The speaker shut off, and the door opened a moment later. Link was there with a skeptical look on his face.

Lucina showed him her SBI issued badge. "May I please come in?"

Link nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Please follow close behind."

Lucina did just that. But as she walked, she couldn't help but take in her surroundings. White marble walls and pillars cleansed her eyes of all the colours from outside. Jet black carpet blanketed the ground that she and Link walked on. A picture of Caeda and her late husband hung on the right side of the wall. It was from their wedding day. Lucina saw Caeda in her wedding dress and Marth in a tuxedo and a red tie. A few feet away, standing alongside the other wall, was a statue of a Lucario. In Smashville, Lucarios were thought to bring peace, love, and good luck to all.

_Guess that's not true_, Lucina thought. _Otherwise, the President wouldn't be dead right now._

"The First Lady's right in here."

Lucina focused back to the situation at hand. She nodded at Link before slowly opening the heavy white door.

Shutting it behind her, she was surprised to see Captain Falcon standing beside Caeda. Lucina raised her eyebrows.

"Captain Falcon," she said with obvious shock, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to make sure the interview goes well," he replied.

Now Lucina was annoyed again. "Why? Do you think I'm going to ask her something inappropriate?"

"Well…"

"Captain Falcon, I trust Agent Lucina," Caeda piped up. "She's from the SBI. Do you mind letting us have some privacy?"

Captain Falcon's eyes almost bulged out of his head upon hearing her request. But he didn't try to fight her on it. He simply nodded silently before leaving the room.

"I'm so sorry," Caeda began.

"Don't apologize, First Lady," Lucina interrupted. "I'm glad we could speak."

"Yes, of course. You said you had a few more questions for me?"

"I do, actually. The SBI found something we'd like to ask you about."

Caeda furrowed her brows, confused. "Wh-What do you mean?"

Lucina went into her bag and grabbed a narrow brown folder out of her purse. She opened it to reveal a case file of a death dated back almost ten years.

"Ten years ago, Roy fell to his death off of a five-storey balcony. The death was accidental; the coroner said that he fell over and died instantly. The reason I'm bringing this up is because you two were married at the time of his death."

"What does this have to do with my husband's assassination?" a suspicious Caeda questioned.

"It just seems odd that both your husbands died in tragic circumstances," Lucina said. "I'm not accusing you of anything, First Lady-"

"It was our one year anniversary. Roy had too much to drink, and he fell."

"Funny you mention that; you said the same thing ten years ago. But the toxicology report from the coroner says that he hadn't consumed any alcohol. He also didn't have any drugs in his system."

Caeda's facial expression changed from upset to angry. Her eyes narrowed carefully.

"I'm done talking. If you or anyone from the SBI bother me again, I'm calling my lawyer."

"First Lady-"

"_Leave!_"

Lucina blinked in surprise by her harsh tone. Rather than fight with the most powerful woman of Smashville, she just left.

* * *

"The UnSub definitely lives close to the crime scene," Luigi said.

Samus stared at the thumbtack-covered map. "Hmm… that's a start. Where's the first residential area near the crime scene?"

Luigi grabbed yet another thumbtack and stabbed it on the first neighbourhood he found. It looked large and fancy, which surprised Samus.

"There's no way the UnSub could live there," she remarked.

"It's the only residential area within radius," Luigi said. "There are no apartments, condos, or houses in the rest of the vicinity."

"So what do you think? Should we canvass the area?"

"That sounds like a good idea."

Ike suddenly entered the room.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, "but Lucina's on the phone."

Snake and Rob were right behind him. Everyone sat around the table to hear the phone conversation.

"Go ahead, Lucina," Ike said.

"Thank you, Sir," she replied. "I just came back from speaking to the First Lady about her first husband's death."

"What did she say?" Rob asked.

"When I mentioned that Roy wasn't drunk, she refused to talk without her lawyer."

Angry sighs and groans filled the room.

"Now _that_ sounds suspicious," Rob pointed out.

"I agree," Lucina said. "But now we're stuck. We can't talk to the First Lady anymore. I'm confident that her lawyer won't allow it."

Snake grinned as an idea formed in his mind.

"We can talk to her family, though… right?" he asked.

The rest of the team that was with him look at him like he was a genius.

"Good call," Ike remarked. "Lucina, get Robin to pull up Caeda's family. See if any of them live in Smashville."

"Do the same for the President, and even Roy," Snake added. "I'm curious to know what they think about the First Lady."

"Sure thing," Lucina replied. "And Ike?"

"Yes?"

"I don't think I need to remind you and the team this, but I'll do it anyways: be as discreet as possible. If the media finds out about our suspicions, we'll be in a lot of trouble."

"Of course. Thanks, Lucina."

After hanging up, Ike looked up at everyone.

"Samus and I found the closest neighbourhood to the crime scene," Luigi said. "We were thinking about canvassing it."

"You two do that," Ike replied. "Rob, keep an ear out for the phone- I'm guessing Robin will call you if she finds anything."

"Yeah… sure," a slightly embarrassed Rob said.

"Snake, you and I need to interview the Smash Secret Service," Ike added.

"Didn't you already interview one of the agents?" Snake questioned.

"Yes, but I want to be certain that they're not hiding anything. Hopefully, they'll be willing to talk. It's risky, but it's really our only option."

* * *

"I'm sorry, but the Smash Secret Service cannot speak about the case."

Ike and Snake exchanged shocked glances. They hadn't expected to hear _that_.

"I'm SBI Unit Chief Ike; this is Senior Supervisory Special Agent Snake. We're with the SBI. We're not the media."

Captain Falcon exited the Parliament House with an angry look on his face.

"Are you here to accuse me and my guys about something from our past?" he inquired.

"We just wanted to talk to the First Lady about her past," Snake explained. "It's the only way for us to understand who she is. Do you really think she would've told us on her own?"

"We're only here to clear the air," Ike added. "If you don't cooperate with us, that'll make you guys look bad. I'm sure you don't want your reputation to be tarnished further."

Captain Falcon sighed. Ike and Snake were right, but Caeda would freak if she found out that the SBI was back.

"Fine," he said. "But don't make a scene. The First Lady's still upset about this morning."

Ike nodded as he and Snake entered the prolific mansion. They were promptly ushered into a large secluded room. The other SSS agents- Link and Shulk- were already there. Little Mac was also inside.

"What do you need to know?" Link asked.

"We want to see if any of you can recall anything from that day," Ike replied.

"Oh, so you think _we're_ hiding things now," Little Mac accused.

_Boy, word travels fast within these walls_, Snake thought. But he actually said, "We never said that. It's true that you're more likely to remember things long after a traumatic event occurs."

"This is ridiculous," Captain Falcon muttered.

"You know, I actually remember one thing," Shulk said suddenly.

Ike looked over at the youngest SSS agent. "Oh? What is it?"

"I saw what the shooter wore," Shulk revealed. "I didn't see his face, but I saw his outline. He had on black pants, a black sweater, and black gloves. He had a red and white bandana tied just above his nose. Oh, and he was wearing a black cap on his head."

"Where was he when you saw him?" Snake asked.

Shulk closed his eyes in an attempt to remember. "He was on a rooftop… of a business. I think it was DeDeDe's Diner. But it also could've been at the Angel Bank. They're right beside each other, and their roofs look so similar."

"That's it?" Little Mac asked angrily. "That's all you can remember?"

"I know it's not much," Shulk said as he opened his eyes, "but it's something. I wish I could help you guys more, but-"

"Don't feel bad," Ike interjected. "You've been extremely helpful."

Snake eyed the other agents and the driver. "Does anyone wanna pitch in their two cents?"

For a while, all was quiet in the room. But eventually, someone spoke up.

"Now that I'm thinkin' back to that day, I did see someone flee the scene," Link said.

"Do you remember if they fit that description?" Snake asked.

Link nodded. "Yeah. The bandana was still on his face, but I… I saw his eyes. They looked happy… like he was proud of killing the President. God, I was angry! I still am! I should've caught the son of a-"

"Focus, Link," Ike said. "What colour were his eyes? Do you remember?"

"Uh, right. They were… they were green… Wait! They were dark green, like my shirt."

Ike was sure to make a note of that.

"I forgot to ask this earlier: have you guys made any progress in finding the shooter?" Captain Falcon asked.

"We just did," Snake answered with a grin.

* * *

Luigi and Samus had been canvassing for two hours, but no new information came up. The two agents were beginning to get frustrated with their lack of progress.

"We're wasting our time here," Samus said.

"I'm beginning to think you're right," Luigi replied.

The two agents walked back to their SUV. They got in and called Ike.

"Ike."

"Hey Ike, it's Samus and Luigi," Samus answered. "Our canvassing turned up nothing."

"Did you happen to spot a person with dark green eyes?" Snake asked.

"Uh… no," a confused Luigi answered. "Why do you ask?"

"We just finished interviewing the SSS and the President's driver. One of the agents said that the suspect has dark green eyes."

"Huh. Well, no, we didn't. But I'm still convinced that the UnSub lives close to the crime scene."

"He does," Ike chimed in.

"I take it you know?"

"Not exactly. What if the UnSub lives off the grid?"

"It makes sense," Samus said. "If our UnSub hates the government, he wouldn't want to associate himself with society."

"But now it'll be difficult to figure out where he lives," Luigi groaned.

"I'll call Robin and see what she can do," Ike replied. "Let's regroup at the precinct."

"Sure thing. See you later," Luigi said.

As he hung up, Samus nudged him.

"Look over there," she said.

Luigi looked in her direction, and saw a suspicious figure walking between some houses. He was constantly looking around like he had something to hide.

"Should we?"

Samus nodded. "Definitely."

She started up the SUV's sirens and lights, which caught the figure's attention. It began to run away.

Samus parked the SUV so she and Luigi could chase him on foot.

"SBI!" she shouted as she pulled out her gun.

Luigi sprinted behind her with his gun drawn. They weren't about to let this guy get away from them.

With the agents each running towards the figure, there was no way for him to escape. He wisely chose to surrender.

"Please don't shoot! I don't have a gun!" he cried.

It was Samus who caught up to the figure first. She slapped cuffs on him and yanked him up to his feet.

"Who are you?" Luigi asked. "And why the hell did you run from us?"

"Wolf O'Donnell. If you wanna know why I ran, check the garbage can that beside the red brick house."

The agents walked over with the suspicious character in tow. Samus carefully opened it.

"A gun?"

"It's the gun that killed the President," Wolf revealed. "But I didn't shoot him."

"Oh, really? And why should we believe you?" an unconvinced Samus asked.

"Take me down to the station, and I'll tell you what I know," Wolf said. "I'd like you to, really."

"Why are you so eager to be arrested?"

"Because my life's in serious danger."

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**Guest: **_**I know, I'm awesome. XD Thank you for your kind words! I like writing Robin like this. It's refreshing in comparison to her regular personality, I think.**

_**pk-smash-attack:**_** Why did I leave you guys on a cliffhanger? Uh... because I can? That's the only answer I can come up with, to be honest. Sorry (not sorry). I think everyone has skeletons in their closets, regardless of who they are. No one's perfect, you know. Comparing ME to fucking JAMES PATTERSON?! Holy shit, thank you so much! Flattered doesn't begin to describe how I felt when I first read that. Thank you so much! :)**

_**Paradigm of Writing: **_**Thank you! Ike's kinda cute... maybe that's why I find it easy to write him? LOL, that's not it. I'm just being silly. I love talking to you as well! LOL, me, an "elder"? Be nice, or I'll whack you upside the head! :P**

_**ChaiCat17: **_**In case you missed it, I included her in the first "real" chapter as the medical examiner. I'll try to get her to make a few more appearances in the fanfic. I'm glad you like it so far!**

_**MaskedGamer:**_** I'm not sorry. I refuse to apologize for leaving a cliffhanger. :) Robin is female Robin, Rob is male Robin. I hope that clears up any confusion. Thank you very much!**

_**Inuyasha Armin Scarlet:**_** Hmm, more like Tiki. I could see Chrom scolding her, too, as well as Maribelle or Sumia if one of them was her mother. If Sully was Lucina's mother, though, she's be like, "That's my girl!" XD Yes, the late President was a naughty boy in college! ;P I like your way of thinking, though. Maybe that'll be the case... or maybe not. LOL, glad you enjoyed the cliffhanger (as well as the rest of the last chapter)!**

_**EchoMoonHuntress:**_** Ike &amp; Rob bromance should be a normal thing. It'd be a funny ass thing to read, that's for sure! Rob? Paranoid? NAH! XD I am a evil little genius, and therefore I will take that as a compliment. I don't care if you intended it to be an insult; I will always see it as a compliment. :) I'm happy to see that you liked it!**

_**Bluefoot:**_** YAY! I was kinda waiting for that compliment, I must admit. You're sorta right with the characters: Ike is Hotch, Snake is Rossi (who's held this position after Gideon disappeared), Samus is Callahan (the newest member of the BAU, AKA Blake's replacement, AKA Prentiss' replacement), Rob is Morgan, Luigi is Reid, Robin is Garcia, and Lucina is JJ BEFORE she became a profiler. I'm kinda obsessed with _Criminal Minds_, in case you couldn't tell. But a lot of crime shows &amp; movies have influenced this fanfic; NOT just that one! I LOVE _CRIMINAL MINDS _TOO! Did I already mention that?**

_**MahNati: **_**Yeah, Marth wasn't so perfect. Like I said to _pk-smash-attack_, I left you all on a cliffhanger because I can. I think Ike's feeling a little bit better now. I always imagined Peach as a _Fox News_ reporter like Megan Kelly. I fucking hate _Fox_ because they're Republican, and I'd be a Democrat if I lived in the U.S. Sorry (not sorry). Therefore, I want Peach to be kinda annoying, and I think a news reporter role fits her perfectly. I made it that Rob &amp; Robin flirt with each other because I know how much you like it. I thought about making it be Lucina and Rob, but I didn't think it'd work. Rob &amp; Robin flirting just feels right,in my opinion. You may or may not have influenced me. I'll never tell.**

_**Anonymous:**_** Sorry for not updating sooner. I'm always loyal to my updating schedule. But the new chapter's here, and I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 5! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey, guys! Before you start reading this chapter, I want to explain something. The modern AU used in _Gone Away Like JFK_ is like the one in_True Blood_, where humans and other creatures knowingly coexist alongside one another. Therefore, Wolf looks like how he does in the _Star Fox _series, and Lucario is a Pokemon. I apologize for any confusion I may have caused.**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**Anyways, please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

Ike sighed as he pulled up beside the house he had to go into. Robin's search for Caeda's next of kin had come up empty. Her parents died in a car accident when she was eighteen, and her relatives lived in Altea. Roy's mother lived in Altea as well, while his father perished in a fire years ago. Luckily, Marth's mother was still alive, and she lived in a Smashville retirement home.

After finally finding a parking spot, Ike entered the retirement home. He walked up to the receptionist desk.

"Hello there," she greeted. "How may I help you?"

"I'm SBI Unit Chief Ike," he explained. "I need to speak with The President's mother."

The receptionist's smile faded. "Oh… oh yes. She's in that room over there. But I must tell you: she's quite tired from her medicine."

Ike nodded. "Thank you for letting me know."

He walked to the correct room, where he found Marth's mother in bed.

"You must be the SBI agent," she said when she saw him enter.

"That'd be me," Ike replied. "May I please ask you a few questions, ma'am?"

"Of course! And please, call me Liza," she added.

Ike took a seat at her bed side.

"What would you like to know?" Liza asked.

"First off: what was Marth like when he was younger?" Ike questioned.

"Oh, my boy was a darling child who loved everybody," Liza gushed. "He couldn't even hurt a fly! But I could sense that our home in Altea didn't suit him."

"What do you mean?"

"Marth always talked about wanting to become someone strong, someone powerful. But Altea's government is… corrupt, to say the least. Marth didn't like that… said that he could never hurt the people he'd sworn to help."

"Why did he move to Smashville?"

"To avoid the war."

Ike nodded. He'd heard about the civil war that was raging in Altea even to this day. He couldn't blame the President for doing such a thing.

"He was going to be conscripted to fight," Liza added. "I didn't want him to fight, nor did he. We both fled before the conflict got too out of hand."

"I see. And what do you think of Caeda?"

For the first time since their talk had begun, Liza frowned.

"I wasn't fond of her," she confessed. "But when I saw how happy she made Marth, I gave in. My mother gave me grief over my husband, and it ruined my relationship with her. I promised myself to not do the same, so I kept my mouth shut on the matter."

"Did you let Caeda know?"

"Gosh, no! I figured she'd tell Marth about it, and it would drive him away from me. Marth was all I had after his father died…"

Liza paused to cry briefly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Ike began.

"Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault, dear. Do you have any more questions?"

"I have one: were you aware that your son's wife was married once before?"

"Yes," Liza replied. "To be honest, that was one of the reasons why I never cared for her. How could be truly love my son after being married to another man?"

Ike made sure he had everything written down. "Thank you for your time. And I'm sorry again for your loss. I promise we'll find the person responsible for your son's death."

"Thank you, Agent."

* * *

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

Rob set the pistol down and removed his headphones from his head. He just finished shooting the gun Samus and Luigi had recovered earlier. This was so these bullets could be compared with the one found in the President's body. By doing this, the SBI could confirm that this gun was the murder weapon.

But Rob was surprised to see that the bullets didn't match. He analyzed them carefully with a microscope, yet he could not match them.

"Hello? Rob?"

He looked up and saw Robin enter the bullet testing chamber.

"Oh, hey Robin," he greeted.

"You don't sound happy," Robin remarked. "What's wrong?"

"The bullets from this gun don't match the bullet that killed President Marth."

"What?! But the guy Luigi and Samus picked up said that it was the murder weapon!" Robin was confused by the whole situation.

"He's lying," Rob said.

"But _why?_ I don't get it," Robin replied.

Rob looked at his colleague in a thoughtful manner.

"I think whoever gave him this gun told him it was the murder weapon," he said. "That's why Wolf said so. But I'm confident he had nothing to do with the assassination."

"So why on Earth is his life in danger?"

"That's what Samus is about to find out."

* * *

"Thanks, Rob. Bye-bye."

Samus hung up before going back inside the interrogation room. Wolf was already there with handcuffs on.

"One of my colleagues just tested the gun you gave us," she said. "He told me it doesn't match the bullet that killed the President."

"What?!" Wolf exclaimed. "B-But that's why the guy told me!"

"What guy?" Samus asked.

"My buddy Fox," Wolf replied. "Damn it! I should've known he'd go and do somethin' like that!"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're talking about."

"I'm a gun smuggler, Agent. I smuggle guns in and out of Smashville. That's all I do. Fox is my boss. He has a habit of exaggerating or lying about what the gun I'm smuggling was used for. So when he told me that gun killed the President, I first thought it was bullshit. But like an idiot, I believed him."

"And why did you say that you're in danger?"

"Ah, don't mind that. I… I may have been exaggerating myself."

Samus rolled her eyes. She was beyond annoyed that she and team had wasted their time with a false lead.

"You're still under arrest for illegal possession of a handgun," she said.

Wolf shrugged. "Whatever. What's a couple years in jail worth anyways?"

After a police officer escorted him out of the interrogation room, Ike entered.

"We don't have shit," Samus sighed.

"The tip line is full of nothing but false leads, too," Ike added. "We need to come up with a profile soon. We're running out of time."

"Let's regroup," Samus suggested. "It couldn't hurt."

"It's all we can do right now," Ike said. "I'll call everyone back here."

* * *

Robin plopped down in front of her computer with a loud sigh. After hearing the news about the gun not being the murder weapon, her mood had changed. She was as disappointed as the rest of the team was about how little progress was being made.

"This is not good for us," Lucina huffed as she sat beside her friend and colleague.

"I feel bad for you," Robin said. "_You're_ the one that has to keep the media at bay, after all. How are they holding up, by the way?"

"Fine, I guess. I told them that Wolf's arrest had nothing to do with the President's assassination."

"I'm sure they'll be like, 'SBI Investigation Still Underway with No Arrests Made'."

"Please don't remind me."

"Oh… right. Sorry."

Lucina nodded. "Let's get back to work, okay?"

"Good idea," Robin said.

She began typing something, but found herself suddenly stopping. An idea formed in her head.

"Uh… Robin? Why did you stop typing?" a confused Lucina asked.

"Do you think the UnSub could've killed before?"

"What?"

"Answer the question, Lucina."

"Um… sure. I mean yes- yes, I believe the UnSub's killed before."

Robin began her search for unsolved murders that had happened within a few months. She ended up finding three murders.

"So a dancer named Zelda was killed three months before the assassination. A night club security guard named Wario was killed a month later. And then last month, a senior executive of Angel Bank named Magnus was murdered. They're all unsolved."

"Why does this matter?" Lucina asked. She was beginning to get impatient.

"I think our UnSub is a spree killer. Look at these cases."

Lucina read all the reports of each murder that had taken place. Despite the vastly different backgrounds of each victim, their untimely deaths seemed eerily similar. They were shot four times, and hollow point bullets had been used.

"This _can't_ be a coincidence," Lucina said. "Call Ike."

Robin didn't waste any time doing that. When he finally answered, Robin didn't even bother with a cheery greeting.

"Sir, I hope the rest of the team's with you," was her greeting.

"They're all here… and I just put you on speaker. Why, what did you find?" Ike asked.

"I think I've figured out the UnSub's profile," Robin revealed.

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**pk-smash-attack: **_**Oh my God, you're way too kind. I only own one of his novels. I know, what is wrong with me?! I like Roy, too: hence why I included him in this fanfic. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint!**

_**ChaiCat17: **_**It's okay! I'm glad you like it, as well as the last chapter!**

_**MaskedGamer: **_**I'm glad you liked it! :)**

_**Bluefoot:**_** I only love _Criminal Minds_, _CSI Miami_, and _CSI Las Vegas_. But I also enjoy real life crime documentaries. God, there are/have been a LOT of crime shows...**

_**MahNati:**_** LOL, nice nickname. But I won't comment on it. I hope my explanation on Wolf &amp; Lucario in the earlier author's note cleared things up. I thought the name of the restaurant was cute. XD LOL, you're still hung up on the SSS &amp; driver. You're too funny! XD I'm so happy to hear that you loved it!**

_**Guest:**_** You'll just have to keep reading to see what happens. :)**

_**Inuyasha Armin Scarlet:**_** Really? I like hearing that you're suspicious about Caeda. I hope you weren't disappointed with this chapter! :)**

_**EchoMoonHuntress:**_** Hmm... you'll just have to keep reading in order to find out. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter!**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 6! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey, guys! It's Thursday, so you know what THAT means... a new chapter of _Gone Away Like JFK_! I hope you guys are excited because I'm excited to upload this! :)**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**Anyways, please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

"The UnSub is a serial killer whose been killing for months," Ike revealed. "We didn't make the connection until recently."

"This UnSub targets those he feels are of higher authority than him," Snake continued. "For example, he first killed a popular dancer. He moved on to a big bodyguard, and then a powerful bank executive. Finally, he killed the president of Smashville. He kills these types of victims as a twisted way of proving his masculinity to others."

"The previous murders were so the UnSub could gain confidence," Luigi pointed out. "With every kill, he gained more confidence in his ability to not get caught. After killing three increasingly powerful victims, he finally got confident to assassinate the President."

"Because of this, the UnSub is a narcissistic," Rob said. "He kills strictly to feel good about himself. We believe that he's been following the murder investigations. He most likely does this by watching the news like any other person."

"This guy most likely has a dead end job that pays little. He'll also most likely be single, because of his narcissistic personality," Samus piped up. "Look for single men, or those who recently got out of a relationship."

"Look for a middle-class man between the ages of 30 and 45 with dark green eyes," Luigi added. "He doesn't look like a monster that someone could easily point out on the street. That makes him even more dangerous, though. After all, his best ability is to not raise suspicion from those around him."

"Up your patrol near the scene of the crime," Snake encouraged. "We believe that the UnSub lives and works in that area. By increasing police presence, it will most likely spook him into making a mistake."

"But please be careful," Ike cautioned. "This UnSub may be weak looking, but he's violent. He goes from hot to cold in a second, and there's no middle ground. He's aggressive, and he will not hesitate to kill. Thank you."

The police officers finished taking notes before going off to do their respective duties.

"I take it you gave Lucina the profile?" Snake asked.

Ike nodded. "She's reading it to the press as we speak."

"How do you think they'll take it?"

"We'll find out soon enough."

* * *

"We continue to urge the public to call us on the tip line if they know anything," Lucina said. "I will now take some time to answer a couple of questions."

In an instant, journalists shot up their hands and called Lucina's name. After a couple seconds, she picked one.

"Isabelle from _SNN_," a dog-like creature dressed in a suit said. "How did the SBI determine this profile?"

"The SBI has learned details and collected evidence that created this profile," Lucina explained. "It takes a lot of time to do such a thing because we wanted the profile to be as accurate as possible."

Again, journalists raised their hands and shouted for attention. Lucina picked out a tall green-haired woman.

"Palutena from _Smash &amp; Fox News_," she greeted. "Why has it taken so long for the SBI to release a profile and to answer questions?"

"As I said, the SBI wanted the profile to be extremely accurate," Lucina said. "Unfortunately, that requires a lot of time, between collecting evidence and going through tips. We also didn't want to have to answer questions until we were ready to answer them. The last thing we want is to be unprepared come a time like this. Now, I think we have time for one more question."

This time around, the journalists scrambled desperately to be picked. It wasn't easy, but Lucina managed to pick someone.

Too bad the journalist she'd picked was a familiar face.

"This is Peach from _SBC News_. Are you and the SBI confident with this profile? After all, it's not like you guys have a real suspect."

Lucina was fuming. This question bothered her because it sounded like the media didn't trust the SBI. In turn, it had the potential to turn the citizens against the SBI. But once again, Lucina bit her cheek and prepared her response.

"The SBI is extremely confident," she said in her most confident voice. "We believe it will aid us in finding the UnSub.

"I'm sorry, but that's all the time we have for questions. Thank you."

The journalists dispersed to their respective news vans. Most of them were grumbling about how they weren't able to question Lucina, though some were silent.

But there was one journalist in particular that stood out.

Peach slowly made her way over to Lucina, much to the latter's chagrin.

"I'm afraid I cannot take any more questions," she said. "I must get back to work."

"For a Communications Liaison, you're awfully standoffish," Peach remarked.

"Miss, I'm just doing my job," Lucina explained. "I apologize if I upset you, but I must be going."

With that, she nodded slightly before high tailing it inside SBI Headquarters.

"You look miserable," was Robin's greeting.

"Have I ever told you how much I hate journalists?" Lucina inquired.

Robin pondered this for a moment. "Maybe. But enlighten me, please. Be my guest."

"I _hate_ journalists," Lucina declared loudly. "Gods, I can't wait for this case to be over."

"I hear ya. But look on the bright side: we're finally making some progress on finding the son of a bitch! Oh, _and_ you kicked ass out there. That's two positives in one day. That's awesome, right?"

"Hmm… point taken. Thanks for pointing that out, Robin. Your optimism is always a breath of fresh air."

"I'm always here for you, Lucy."

"Thanks… and don't call me Lucy."

Robin laughed. "Okay. Sorry about that… Lucy."

Lucina glared at her friend and co-worker, but she soon found herself laughing along.

* * *

Rob was sitting alone in the conference room thinking not so pleasant thoughts. That was why he was alone; he didn't want to voice said unpleasant thoughts to anyone. He didn't even want to call Robin to discuss what was going on in his head. It just made sense for Rob to drown in these thoughts alone.

"Rob?"

_Well, so much for doing that_, he thought.

He craned his head and to his relief, he saw Snake standing in the doorway.

"Hey, Snake," he greeted.

"What are you doing here by yourself?" Snake asked as he shut the door behind him.

"Thinking."

"About?..."

"Stuff."

Snake scoffed. "Look, you can't just keep things to yourself. Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I do," Rob said. "How could you question such a thing? _Everyone_ trusts you, Snake."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Ugh…"

Sensing genuine dread, Snake took a seat across his younger colleague. He nodded and sighed heavily.

"It's about the case, isn't it?" he asked.

"No, actually," Rob confessed. "Well… sort of."

Now Snake was confused. "What are you trying to say?"

Rob ran his hands over his face and let out a heavy sigh of his own.

"It's about Caeda," he revealed.

"Aah, there we go. That wasn't hard to admit, now was it?" Snake teased.

"It's not funny!" Rob snapped. "I'm serious, Snake,"

"Calm down, kid. Don't get too worked up. Look, take a deep breath, and then we'll start over."

Rob sat back in his seat and did what Snake told him to do. As much as he hated to admit it, it actually _did _make him feel better."

"Now, what is it you were sayin about Caeda?" Snake asked.

"I… I want to investigate the death of her first husband, Roy," Rob explained. "I have this sick feeling inside that's telling me his death wasn't an accident."

"I agree with your hunch," Snake admitted. "But there are a lot of hoops we have to jump through to prove that a crime occurred. And you know Caeda won't talk without a lawyer."

"That's what I'm struggling with," Rob said. "I want to investigate Roy's death…but I fear that we won't be able to. Plus, we already have one case on our hands."

"Let me talk to Ike. I'll tell him the truth, and I'll see what he says. That's all I can do."

"No, _we're_ gonna talk to Ike. I'm not scared of him."

Snake smirked. "Now that's more like it."

* * *

Ike had no problem with his colleagues expressing their concerns to him. In fact, he'd come to expect it with every case the SBI took on. But he hadn't expected _this_.

"You two are making quite a statement," he said.

"We know," Rob replied.

"That's why we've come to talk to you about it," Snake added. "We need you to okay us reopening Roy's death. We'll make sure that the media doesn't catch on."

"And how do you plan on going about this?" Ike asked. "Roy's been dead for years- any evidence on him has most likely been destroyed."

"We'll call the medical examiner so we can read the original autopsy," Rob revealed. "We also plan on interviewing police officers and anyone else connected to the case."

"It's a shot in the dark," Ike said.

"But we'll never know unless we pull the trigger," Snake pointed out.

Ike sighed. He couldn't think of any other reasons for them to _not_ pursue Roy's death. So he really had no choice but to give the men his blessing. Besides, they would probably investigate it behind his back if he said no.

"Do it," he said. "But listen: if the media catches on, we immediately drop it. No ifs, ands, or buts. And if I need you two to help out with this case, you're gonna drop everything to help out. None of that is up for debate. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," Rob replied.

"You have my word," Snake chimed in.

"Good. You're excused now."

As Rob and Snake were about to leave, Samus and Luigi suddenly entered. Samus had her phone in her hand.

"Robin's on the phone," she said. "Go ahead, Robin."

"Thanks, lovely," replied Robin. "So, I went digging through Caeda and Roy's marriage, and WOW. Calling it an unhappy marriage would be an understatement."

Ike was amused by this development, but he didn't say so.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

"Oh Gods, where do I even begin?" Robin countered rhetorically. "This was their marriage in a nutshell: they spent it calling the cops on each other. Caeda claimed that Roy abused her, but no evidence of abuse ever showed up. Roy claimed that Caeda was the abusive one, but again, there was no evidence. No arrests ever happened- the cops showed up, clamed things down, left, and repeat ad nauseam."

"Talk about a roller coaster of a marriage," Snake commented.

"I'm not done, guys," Robin added. "Guess who got paid $750 000 because of a life insurance policy?"

The rest of the team let their jaws drop. They sure as hell had _not_ expected that.

"Well? Am I awesome, or am I awesome?" a giddy Robin asked.

"You're awesome, doll," Rob answered.

"Aww, thanks, you beautiful man," Robin replied happily.

"Slow down, guys," Ike piped up. "I really appreciate the info, Robin- don't think that I don't. But it's all circumstantial evidence. We can't arrest Caeda based on that."

"But now we have something to work with," Luigi said.

"It's only up we go," Samus added.

"Point taken," Ike replied. "Robin, find out whatever else you can. Snake, you and Rob should pay the medical examiner a visit. As for everyone else… focus on the assassination. As much as we wanna find out what happened to Roy, we still have a serial killer out there. And _t__hat's_ our top priority."

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**Paradigm of Writing: **_**You flatter me too much. But thank you so much! This fanfic WILL end eventually, but it won't be anytime soon.**

_**EchoMoonHuntress:**_** I refuse to comment on your theory. Wolf's a criminal- jail doesn't bother him 'cause he knows he'll eventually get out. LOL, yes of course Robin's smart. Twists &amp; turns are fun! I love them so.**

_**Guest:**_** Sorry (not sorry). LOL, I'm glad you enjoyed it regardless! :)**

_**MahNati:**_** I'm glad it made sense. I'm sorry to disappoint you with Wolf. I'm an evil bitch, aren't I? Fox &amp; Wolf are rivals in the _Star Fox_ series if I read it correctly. I Googled it after reading your review, and everything I read labelled them as rivals. Of course Robin's awesome! How else would I write here?**

_**Shana Hager:**_** Thank you so much! I'm glad you're liking it so far. :)**

_**dragon0551**_** (chapter 2): Interesting theories. I like 'em. I like 'em a lot.**

_**dragon0551**_**: Again: interesting theories. I'm happy to hear that you love this fanfic!**

_**Inuyasha Armin Scarlet: **_**I hope this chapter answered your question. Robin's always a life saver, isn't she? As for your theory on Caeda &amp; the UnSub being connected... interesting. That's all I'll say about it.**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 7! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey there, everyone! I have chapter 7 up finally, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I know it's not a super long chapter, but I do urge you all to sit back and enjoy the ride that is chapter 7!**

**I own nothing related to _Fire Emblem._**

**Anyways, please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

Snake and Rob drove to the medical examiner's office. Rob was a nervous wreck the whole drive, which pissed him off. This was a huge risk that the team was taking, but he wanted to do it. We wanted to find out if Roy's death was a homicide. It wasn't about wanting to arrest Caeda; it was about getting justice for Roy. Rob just wanted to know the truth. That was all he wanted.

"Rob?"

He snapped out of his thoughts so he could look at Snake.

"Let's go, alright?" he asked.

"Oh… right," Rob said. "Let's."

Snake wasn't convinced. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes. You know me- once I have my mind set on something, there's no changing it."

"Good. Let's head in. I hate keeping people waiting."

Rob nodded before he and Snake exited the SUV. They walked into the medical examiner's office and were greeted almost immediately.

"Hello, Snake. Nice to see you again," Dr. Rosalina said. "Who's your friend?"

"Supervisory Special Agent Rob," the man in question replied. "Nice to meet you."

The two briefly shook hands.

"What can I do you two for?" Dr. Rosalina asked.

"We were hoping you still have the autopsy report on Roy," Snake revealed.

"Aah, yes. I remember. Follow me, please."

Snake and Rob followed her into her office. She opened up a drawer in her filing cabinet and fished through it for several minutes. She eventually pulled out a skinny brown folder.

"Here it is," she said.

Rob skimmed through it briefly. "You labelled his death as an accident."

"I did," Dr. Rosalina confirmed. "But I must be honest… I wasn't comfortable with doing that."

"So why did you?" Snake asked curiously.

"I… Well…"

Dr. Rosalina abruptly hung her head with shame.

"What's wrong?" Rob questioned.

"I… I accepted a bribe from Roy's mother to file the death as an accident," she confessed.

Snake furrowed his eyebrows. "Why did she offer you a bribe?"

"She feared that Caeda would spread lies about her son to the media. From what I was told, Caeda threatened to drag Roy and his family's name through the mud. The last thing Roy's mother wanted was lies being spread about her son."

"Makes sense," Rob mused.

"I'm still full of shame that I accepted it," Dr. Rosalina added. "I was thinking about not wanting to embarrass Roy's mother. She'd already been through enough… she didn't need to deal with Caeda. She was so heartless! But I couldn't say no. I…I will never…never ever…forgive myself for what I did."

"You can make this right," Snake said in a gentle manner. "We want to make this right, too. But we need your help in doing so."

Dr. Rosalina dried her eyes carefully before speaking again.

"What do you need?" she asked.

"We're gonna need you to change Roy's death from accidental to homicide," Snake answered.

"Absolutely."

Rob grabbed a pen and a pad of paper. "And give us an official statement."

* * *

"Wow… really? You got all that?"

Samus hastily wrote down the information the detective was telling her over the phone.

"Thank you so much," she said a few minutes later. "You've been quite helpful. I sincerely appreciate it. Alright. Bye-bye."

She hung up just as Luigi entered the precinct with coffee.

"You bought coffee for me?" Samus asked.

Luigi shook his head. "I also got one for Ike, and one for me. Rob and Snake will just have to buy their own."

"Poor them."

"Oh, well."

Samus laughed before taking a sip.

"Mmm… black coffee. Just the way I like it! Thank you," she said.

"No problem," Luigi replied. "So uh, who were you on the phone with?"

"That was the lead detective from the previous string of unsolved murders," Samus explained. "He's coming over in a couple hours to give us the evidence from each case so we can look over it."

"That's great! I'm glad we're making some headway. We can't leave a case this huge unsolved. I was worried this was gonna become a cold case."

"So did I, actually. I can't wait for this case to be over. I've never been this stressed out over a murder case in my entire life. I couldn't even sleep last night because of how stressed I am. I think I'm losing my ever loving mind."

"That's not healthy."

Samus groaned loudly. "I know. That's why I'm so grateful you bought coffee for me. I need to wake up ASAP."

"I bet," Luigi said. "But Samus, please try and get some sleep tonight. You can't work well if you're exhausted from getting no sleep. Promise?"

"Fine. I promise."

Luigi sipped his coffee and grinned. "Thank you."

An armadillo wearing western clothing suddenly walked into the precinct carrying a large box.

"Are you SSA Samus?" he asked.

"I am."

"Excellent. I'm Detective Dillon. We spoke on the phone a few minutes ago."

"Aah, yes. This is my colleague, SSA Luigi."

"Hello," Luigi greeted.

Dillon tilted his cowboy hat in his direction briefly. "Here are all the cases you asked for, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Detective," Samus said. She took the box and placed it on the desk.

"I still can't wrap my head around this," Dillon added. "I never imagined these deaths being connected, much less connected to the President's death."

"I can understand why," Luigi said. "We never saw the connection until one of our colleagues pointed it out."

"Sounds like one smart lady."

Samus nodded. "You bet."

"Anyways, I'd better leave so that you two can look over everything," Dillon said. "Thanks for taking over this case. I appreciate it."

The two agents bid him goodbye, and then began looking everything over. They were quick to spot the eerie similarities between these cases and the President's.

"I see you just got the case files," Ike said as he entered the room.

"We did," Samus replied.

"I can definitely tell that we're looking for one UnSub," Luigi added. "All the murders are too alike to be committed by different UnSubs."

Ike nodded. "I just got off the phone with Snake. The M.E. changed Roy's death to a homicide."

"That's great. What made them change it?" Samus asked.

"According to her, Roy's mother made her accept a bribe," Ike answered. "Caeda threatened to lie about Roy if the case was labelled a homicide. His mother didn't want that to happen, so she made the M.E. accept a bribe."

Samus shook her head with disbelief.

"Any mother would want to protect her child," Luigi remarked. "I'm not surprised she went to that length to not make him look bad in the media. What else do they know?"

"I'm not sure. They're on their way back as we speak," Ike said.

"I don't believe Caeda has anything to do with her husband's death," Samus revealed. "She's definitely not smart enough to kill all those people, _and_ her husband. She also doesn't fit our profile."

The phone suddenly rang. Ike pressed a button so that the person on the other end was on speaker.

"Go ahead, Robin," he said.

"Sir, I found something interesting," Robin replied.

"Oh?"

"What'd you find, Robin?" Luigi asked.

"A week before Marth's death, he and Caeda both got life insurance policies. Caeda is the primary beneficiary for Marth, and Marth's the beneficiary for Caeda. Nothing too suspicious there until you look at the amounts. Caeda's policy was worth $150 000, with a payout of $100 000 if death is accidental. But Marth's is worth $500 000, which could have gone up to $750 000 if his death was accidental."

"That's a $250 000 different!" Samus exclaimed.

"But she couldn't have killed her husband," Ike said. "If his death was a murder, she'd only get the 500 grand. Besides, she was right beside him when he was shot."

"True," Robin said, "_but _here's something sketchy! See, I was digging through their computer history extensively. Caeda booked her and Marth for a week-long trip to Smash Canyon. The trip was supposed to happen next week."

"There's no way in hell that that's a coincidence," Luigi commented.

"She wanted to kill Marth for his life insurance money," Samus said, shocked. "But the UnSub beat her to it."

"Once I hear from Snake and Rob, we'll see if we have enough to interview Caeda," Ike said. "Excellent work again, Robin… and Lucina. I assume you're still there, right Lucina?"

"Yes, Sir," she replied. "But honestly, it was all Robin."

"Aww… thank you, honey," Robin giggled.

"I'll help you two go through the other cases," Ike said after he ended the phone call. "We need to find the UnSub to prove that Caeda didn't kill Marth and those other people. People do love conspiracies, you know. We don't want people to think that Caeda had anything to do with these murders, too."

"No kidding," Samus replied.

Luigi shuddered a little. "Let's start now."

* * *

Somewhere in Smashville, a man sat alone in his living room watching TV. More specifically, he was watching a news broadcast. It revealed Marth's assassination to be connected to other murders.

"No… no, no, no…" he muttered. "NO!"

Angry, he shut off the TV and threw the remote on the coffee table. He knew he needed to stop watching the news, but he couldn't. It was his only way to keep tabs on the SBI's investigation. Injecting himself in the investigation was tempting, but it also made him look suspicious. _That_ couldn't happen, no matter what. All he needed to do was keep a low profile, and hope that the SBI couldn't identify him as the killer. So far, he was succeeding at that, much to his relief.

_They already came by my store to talk to me,_ he thought with worry. _Wait a second… calm down now, man. The SBI only came by to find out if we sold anyone that gun or those bullets. Thank God someone else bought a similar gun recently! The SBI would never suspect me after that. Then again-_

"Honey?"

The man scowled with annoyance as he looked towards the kitchen. "What?"

"Are you okay? I heard a loud bang," the woman said.

"Oh, that? That was nothing. I just dropped something," the man lied. "Don't worry about me, dear. I'm fine."

The woman wasn't convinced at all, but she chose to not push the matter further. She just nodded before silently disappearing back into the kitchen.

Satisfied, the man sat back in his seat and let out a big sigh of relief. Yes, the SBI had connected all the murders he'd committed together- that was true. But they still hadn't connected the murders to him. _That_ was the important thing to remember.

_They'll never find me_, he thought. _I'm too damn smart to get caught. The SBI has their work cut out for them._

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**Paradigm of Writing: **_**Is that so? Wow. That's impressive!**

_**Guest:**_** Hopefully, this chapter gave you some of your answers. ;)**

_**EchoMoonHuntress:**_** Unpredictable, you say? I like that. I'll definitely take it as a compliment. I feel bad for Lucina, too. The media is full of entitled assholes, for some fucking reason. Yeah, Roy and Caeda didn't have a picture perfect marriage. I love Rob &amp; Robin in this fanfic, too. I always smiling writing their interactions.**

_**Ignitious:**_** Thank you so very much! Jesus, you flatter me far too much. I like different kinds of dialogue because I think it makes a story interesting. Plus, who doesn't enjoy writing flirty dialogue? (I'm looking at both of you, Rob &amp; Robin.) The comparison is also quite flattering. I sincerely appreciate everything you said, and I truly hope that this chapter didn't disappoint!**

_**Smash King24:**_** Thank you for your kind words! I looked up _There Will Be Brawl_, but I haven't started watching it. I assume it's based on the Daniel-Day Lewis vehicle _There Will Be Blood_? I haven't watched that film, but now I really want to. Thank you again for reviewing, and I also wanna thank you for writing your 500th review on my fanfic! Oh, and thank you for posting this fanfic as the "Fanfic of the Week". I truly can't thank you enough, Smash. I hope you review this fanfic again soon, and I hope you loved this chapter, too! :)**

_**MahNati:**_** Hey, you reviewed it in the end, right? Don't apologize. :) Yeah, the SBI has a ballsy serial killer on their hands. And Caeda's definitely not so innocent, is she? _Smash &amp; Fox News_ is based on the real life Fox News, in case you missed the reference. I'm glad you liked Isabelle's appearance! I'll try to incorporate some of the Assist Trophies, but I won't be able to include all of them. I already included Magnus as a murder victim, and Dillon was in this chapter. Hopefully I can add a couple more before this fanfic ends. I agree that Robin &amp; Lucina have good chemistry. Their interactions are almost as fun to write as Robin's &amp; Rob's!... almost. LOL, glad you liked it!**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 8! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey there, everyone! It's finally Thursday, so it's time for a new chapter of _Gone Away Like JFK_! I'm starting to tie up those loose ends for you all. I hope that this chapter answers a few of your questions. :)**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**Anyways, please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

Robin frowned as she stared intensely at her computer screen. She was quite puzzled about a certain aspect of this case, and it was making her batty. The little voice in her head made it clear to her that her thoughts weren't going to go away soon. She needed to get her thoughts off her chest before she went haywire.

But Robin _didn't_ want to talk about it. She wanted to keep it bottled up inside her, where it was kept safe. That was unusual of her, to say the least. It's not that she didn't like discussing aspects of cases the SBI was working on. Rather, it was that Robin felt uncomfortable airing her concerns about _this_ case. It was such a controversial case, and her thoughts were merely a theory. It wasn't anything concrete, much to her dismay. To say that she felt torn about what to do would have been the understatement of the year.

"I think you're gonna burn a hole in the computer if you keep staring at it."

Robin jumped in her seat and looked over at her colleague.

"Sorry," Lucina said.

"Ugh… it's fine," Robin grumbled. She rubbed her eyes and sighed.

Lucina bit her lower lip curiously. "Okay, what's wrong?"

"It's about the case."

"I figured as much. You only stare at the computer like that when you're thinking about a case. So, what's the issue this time?"

"I'm thinking about when the others went to the gun stores," Robin began. "I don't understand how no one bought hollow point bullets or a nine millimeter. Yeah, someone bought that same gun at Ye Ol Gun Shoppe, but it wasn't the UnSub."

"Yeah, I've thought about that myself," Lucina said. "It's frustrating."

"And Smashville has the strictest gun laws compared to other worlds," Robin added. "You _have_ to have a gun license, and you _have_ to have your guns registered. You can only buy hand guns, or a long barrelled shotgun for hunting. So how in the hell did the UnSub beat such an airtight system?"

"It's anyone's guess," Lucina said dryly. "I don't have a clue, though. I wish I did, Robin."

"Wait a second!"

"Hmm?"

"I just thought of something!"

"I'm listening."

"I know this seems weird…but what if the UnSub is one of the gun store owners? Or works for one of those stores?"

Lucina's eyes widened. "That makes perfect sense! They have access to everything, so they could just steal whatever they wanted."

Robin didn't waste any time looking up both stores. She searched through Smashville Gun Shop's history and found nothing unusual. Also, the owner, Ganondorf, had no criminal record to speak of. The latter could be said for the two owners of Ye Ol' Gun Shoppe, Whitman and Winnie. But when Robin pulled up the company's history…

"There was a robbery there almost seven months ago," she revealed.

"What was taken?" Lucina asked.

"A nine millimeter… and hollow point bullets that are only sold there," Robin answered. "I gotta call the team to let them know!"

She quickly dialled Rob's number without any hesitation.

"Hey, gorgeous," he greeted.

"Hey hun. Do you have a sec?"

"Of course I do."

"And is the rest of the team with you? They also need to hear this."

There was a brief pause on the other end. Robin could make out the sound of shuffling, followed by a door closing.

"Am I on speaker?" she asked.

"You are now," Rob replied.

"What do you got?" Samus asked.

"It's a long story, so please bear with me as I try to shorten it," Robin started. "So, Lucina and I were talking about how neither gun shop had someone buy a gun or bullets. You know, one that matches the murder weapon. Then I thought, 'What if the UnSub works for one of the gun stores, and stole the gun and bullets?'. So I did some digging, and guess what? Someone stole a nine millimeter handgun, anda box of hollow point bullets. That was seven months ago, before the murders started. The robbery happened only at Ye Ol' Gun Shoppe. Oh, and those bullets are only sold _there_. Huh? Huh? What do you think of this new development?"

"It's definitely helpful, love," Rob said.

"It gives us a reason to talk to the owners of Ye Ol' Gun Shoppe again," Ike added. "Maybe they'll be able to give us some insight on what happened."

"I also did a background check on all three owners from each of the two stores," Robin piped up. "None of them had a criminal record, or a violent history. They're all stand up citizens, which could mean trouble."

"I figured they'd be clean," Ike sighed. "We'll need to use caution when we head out. Luigi and I will go to the gun shop to speak to the owners. Excellent job as always, Robin."

"Thank you, Sir. I hope we're in touch soon."

She hung up a moment later, letting out a sigh of relief as she did so.

"How the hell do you do it?" an awe struck Lucina asked.

"Oh, you will never know, lovely," Robin teased. "A good magician never reveals her secrets."

Lucina pretended to scowl. "Damn… I knew you'd say that, but I didn't want you to."

"Oh well," said Robin. "You should be used to it by now."

* * *

Samus and Snake sat at a large desk, each person beside a phone. While Ike and Luigi were off to speak to the gun store owners, they were dealing with the tip line. Though tips were now far and few between, it didn't hurt to lend a hand to the local police. Besides, they didn't really have anything else to do

"Did I tell you about Rosalina accepting a bribe from Roy's mother?" Snake inquired suddenly.

"I think you did," Samus said. "I'm not too surprised that that happened. It makes sense in the grand scheme of things. That reminds me: what are you gonna do with her?"

"I don't know," Snake replied. "I'd like to arrest her for bribery, to be honest."

"Don't do that. She'd make a great witness for the prosecution."

"But she still broke the law. Are you saying that you agree with her accepting the bribe?"

"Fuck no. I'm saying that she could help if you gave her immunity in exchange for her testimony."

Snake pondered Samus' words carefully. He hadn't looked at the situation that way, if he was being honest with himself. He saw the situation as cut and dry; Rosalina broke the law, so she should be arrested. It made sense because that's how criminals are dealt with daily; they get arrested. They're then charged, and are put on trial.

But what Samus just said changed his mind completely. Rosalina's statement had been a thorough, honest explanation of what she'd done and why. Also, she had been extremely upset when she'd recounted her story. Snake had seen countless indiviudals use crocodile tears in an attempt to look remorseful. But Rosalina's remorse had definitely been genuine. She seemed like someone who wanted to help those that couldn't help themselves anymore. That's how he viewed himself, and he recognized that she was like that, too.

"You're right," he finally said. "I… I didn't think of that."

"I'm sure the D.A. would agree with me," Samus replied. "Once he knows the full story, he'll most certainly agree to give Rosalina immunity. She's more valuable as a witness, rather than a criminal."

"You got that right," Snake remarked with a dark chuckle. "Thanks for the input, Samus. I appreciate it."

"Anytime," Samus said. She briefly grinned at him. "It helps to get a second opinion- especially with people's lives in our hands."

"You got that right."

* * *

Ike and Luigi pulled into the parking lot of Ye Ol' Gun Shoppe. They exited the car and walked inside casually. They were promptly greeted by Winnie, who was confused about why they were back.

"Hello there, agents," she greeted. "Is something going on?"

"I don't believe so," Ike answered. "Then again, I could be wrong."

"What do you mean?" Winnie asked.

"We're here to discuss the robbery that happened here several months ago," Ike explained.

"The items stolen might have killed the President and other people," Luigi added.

"Oh my God," Winnie gasped. "Let me go get my husband, if you don't mind. He's just in the back."

"Of course," Ike said.

Winnie dashed into the store's backroom. This left the agents alone in the main part of the store.

"Ike."

Ike looked at Luigi, who pointed him in the direction of the left wall. A large cork bulletin board was nailed into the white wall. That wasn't unusual; but the dozens of newspaper clippings tacked on it were. Specifically, the clippings' contents were rather disturbing. Each one was about the murders the SBI were currently investigating. Clippings about the first three murders plastered the top half of the bulletin board. The bottom half was strictly reserved for newspaper clippings of the President's assassination.

"That's suspicious," Ike muttered.

Luigi opened his mouth to speak, but he was abruptly cut off by a shrill scream. He and Ike drew their weapons and raced into the backroom. When they made it, they came upon a horrifying sight.

Whitman was holding his own wife hostage with a gun to her temple.

"Don't do it!" Ike shouted.

"Whitman, put the gun down," Luigi order.

"You don't understand," Whitman snarled. "I killed those people! I killed them all! I even killed the fucking President!"

Winnie whimpered and let out a heavy sob. Her heart was racing because she didn't know if she was going to live much longer.

"Don't you want the world to know what you did?" Luigi asked.

"Of course!" Whitman exclaimed.

An idea suddenly formed in Luigi's head. He slowly put his gun away and approached Whitman with caution. Ike kept his gun trained on Whitman on the off chance something went astray.

"Look," Luigi said, "you really don't want to kill your wife. She deserves to know everything, Whitman. Don't you want to be the one to tell everyone your story?"

Whitman's eyes went from angry to wary in an instant. He could feel himself lowering the gun away from his wife's head. What Luigi had said made perfect sense. He agreed with it because it was true- he wanted the world to know what he had done. After all-

His train of thought was interrupted by a large, strong body crashing into him. The force of it caused the gun to fall out of his hand, and for him to land back first on the hardwood floor. Before he could fight back, Ike had him on his stomach to put handcuffs on.

"You're comin' with us," Ike spat.

As he dragged Whitman outside, Luigi went to check on Winnie. She had run farther into the backroom when Ike had rushed her husband. Luigi found her quickly, crying and shaking violently.

"Shh… it's over now," Luigi said in a comforting voice. "Come on, you need to come with us."

"That's fine," Winnie sobbed. She paused to wipe her tears away. "Just keep him away from me… please."

"I promise."

* * *

Snake jumped when he heard his phone ring. He grabbed it and saw that it was Ike.

"Snake," he greeted.

"I need you and Rob to come to Ye Ol' Gun Shoppe," Ike said. "Bring CSI with you, too."

"Sure," Snake replied. "Wait, what's going on?"

"Whitman is our UnSub," Ike revealed. "We already have him in custody. We're also bringing his wife in for questioning. I'm coming back to the station to interview Whitman, and Samus will interview Winnie. I already let her know what's going on. You, Rob, and Luigi need to search the store for the murder weapon."

"I don't normally question you, but… are we certain that it's there?"

"Yes. Whitman told us it's somewhere in his store. We need that gun and its bullets to seal this case shut. Find them, and let me know when you do."

"You got it, Ike. I'm on my way over."

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**dragon0551: **_**I hope I managed to surprise you even a little. ;D**

_**yolosaurus33:**_** Thank you! I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying this fanfic.**

_**MahNati:**_** Yeah, I agree. I don't know about you, but I totally DESPISE Fox News. I don't wanna get into it though 'cause I'll just get super pissed off. Oh, yes... Caeda's reaction was genuine- it was just genuine for all the wrong reasons. I feel horrible for Rosalina. She wanted to protect Roy and his mother, but she had to break to do it. Her heart was in the right place, though; you can't argue with that. Robin &amp; Lucina are fun to write, but so are Rob &amp; Snake's interactions. Their relationship is different, though; I think Rob looks at Snake like a father figure of their huge age gap. It makes sense to me anyways. I'm glad you loved the last chapter!**

_**Lady Paprika:**_** I hope this chapter answered some of your questions. As for the questions I didn't address, I didn't forget about them. I plan on answering them in a later chapter. I hope you can stick around until the end to have all your questions answered. Glad you like it!**

_**dra9onslayer:**_** Rob is male Robin, while Robin is female Robin. I'm not using R.O.B. in this fanfic. I just use Rob for male Robin to differenciate between him and female Robin. I hope this clears things up. I do apologize for confusing you. I'm glad you're enjoying this fanfic!**

_**EchoMoonHuntress:**_** I looked up his trophy in the game to find out his name. I wanted to use some of the Assist Trophies because I feel like they're often forgotten about. I won't use them all, but I'll use as many of them as I can. I hope I answered some of your questions here. Don't worry if some of them weren't answered; I'll get to them in later chapters. :)**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for chapter 9! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	10. Chapter 9

**Hello there, everyone! So, this is actually the second last chapter of _Gone Away Like JFK_. I was going to do two more chapters after this initially, but I decided to just write one super long chapter for next week. I hope that that's alright with you guys.**

**Again, I own absolutely nothing.**

**Anyways, please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

Snake and Rob got to Ye Ol' Gun Shoppe as fast as they could without looking suspicious. The news of Whitman's arrest hadn't been released, and the SBI wanted to keep it that way. They weren't about to break the news until they could prove Whitman's guilt. The incident Luigi had seen helped, but it wasn't concrete evidence. That was why the three agents were here to search for the murder weapon.

"This place is huge!" Rob exclaimed when he and Snake stepped inside.

"It's bigger than I expected," Snake admitted. "We have a lot of ground to cover."

"No kidding," Rob said. "Hey, Luigi!"

"Hey, guys," Luigi greeted. "I'm glad you two are here. We're running out of time."

With that, the three men went to different parts of the gun store. Every square inch of the store was searched thoroughly. None of the agents wanted anything to be left unturned. A lesser agent would've just searched the store quickly in an attempt to get it over with. Going through every damn thing was mind numbing, but it was completely necessary. They needed to find the murder weapon- end of story.

"Guys?"

Snake and Rob perked their ears when they heard Luigi's voice. Both men went into the back room to find him holding a nine millimeter hand gun in his gloved hand.

"That has to be the murder weapon," Rob said. "It's a nine millimeter, for goodness sake!"

"Calm down," Snake said. "You're right about it being a nine millimeter, but who knows? It might not be the murder weapon. But we'll take it down to headquarters so you can test it. After all, you seem to be the most anxious of us to find out."

"Snake's right," Luigi chimed in. "We need to test it before we can confirm that it's the murder weapon. Right now, it's just a loaded handgun."

"Fine," Rob grumbled with defeat. "Gods, this had better be the murder weapon. If it isn't…"

"Don't think too far ahead," Snake interrupted. "I know you tend to do that, but _don't do it_."

"Right. How about you two search for anything else, and I'll go to headquarters to test out the gun?"

"Works for me. Luigi?"

"I'm fine with that. Call us when you get the results."

"I will. Thanks!"

Luigi carefully placed the weapon in an evidence bag before handing it off to Rob. He raced outside and sped back to headquarters.

"He's eager to make sure this guy's guilty," Luigi remarked.

"Reminds me of me," Snake chuckled. "Aah, to be young and energetic whenever evidence came along."

"I don't think that really changed."

"You think so?"

"I know so. Your eyes lit up faster than a Christmas tree when I showed you the gun."

Snake shook his head sarcastically. "Get back to work, you prick."

"Fine, you overgrown child," Luigi shot back with a laugh.

* * *

_BANG!_

The loud gunshot noise filled the ballistics test room. Rob placed the weapon down and removed the soundproof headphones. He smiled as he grabbed that bullet, and compared it to the one from the President's body.

"Rob?"

"Shh. I need to know if these two bullets match."

Robin rolled her eyes as she silently watched Rob compare the two bullets. In several minutes, he looked up with a wide smile.

"The bullets match!" he exclaimed.

"I know," Robin said.

"What?! How'd you know before me?"

"I didn't, actually. I just said that to see your reaction."

Rob scoffed. "That wasn't nice, Robin."

"You're right. I'm sorry. But I'm happy to hear that you guys found the murder weapon."

"Me too. I gotta call Snake and Luigi!"

"You won't need to," Robin said. "Snake called a few minutes ago. He and Luigi found a box of half empty hollow point bullets at the gun store. They matched those bullets from the other murders."

"I'd say we have our man," Rob replied confidently.

"I wonder what he has to say for himself."

"We'll find out soon enough."

* * *

Samus entered the interview room with a relatively calm look on her face. She had decided to go into the interview with no real expectations. No one in the SBI knew if she played any sort of role in Whitman's serial killing. Whether she had been an accomplice or even a shooter at some point remained to be seen. Samus was going to have to figure out Winnie's role for herself.

"Here's some water," she said.

"Thank you," Winnie replied.

"I need to ask you a few questions," Samus exclaimed. "Are you alright answering them?"

"Sure," Winnie said.

"I want to explain something before we start. I don't know what your husband is telling my colleague. What I _do_ know is that he's in a lot of trouble for murdering more than just the President. If you lie to protect him, that will get you arrested for obstruction of justice. Our interview will tell me whether you're a suspect or not. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Agent."

Samus nodded. "Good. Now, I'd like to know if you've noticed anything… different about your husband."

"Oh yes," Winnie answered. "He's been rather distant. I asked him what was wrong a couple times, but he never told me. He'd just say, 'I had a bad day,' and then asked how I was doing."

"Did you ever push him to talk about it?"

"No. I thought that if he wanted to talk about it, he'd start the conversation himself."

"What else did you notice?"

"Nothing else."

"Did you notice he kept a bulletin board of newspaper clippings about the murders?"

"Of course! Whitman said that he was interested in following the murders. A couple customers read the clippings, but no one seemed to be bothered by it. If that happened, I would've gotten rid of it long ago. Do you really think my husband killed all those people?"

"We're extremely confident that he did," Samus said.

Winnie looked shaken by this revelation. "That can't be! He's never been in trouble before. Why would he do something so despicable? Was it my fault?"

"No. I promise you, this wasn't your fault. You never saw this coming- no one did. Don't blame yourself for what's happened, Winnie."

"So… what's gonna happen to me?"

"If this case goes to trial, you'll have to testify against your husband. I know that's not an easy thing to wrap your head around, but I'm afraid you'll have to. But no, you're not under arrest. You've been really forth coming and honest. I'm confident to believe that you had nothing to do with the murders."

"I… I understand. May I please ask you a question, Agent?"

Samus blinked in surprise, but recovered quick. "Sure. What is it?"

"Do you know any inexpensive divorce lawyers in Smashville?"

* * *

"Thanks for letting me know, Rob. I appreciate it."

Ike hung up before entering the interview room. He wasn't surprised to see Whitman acting cool and collected in his seat.

"We found the murder weapon in your shop," Ike explained. "The bullets from that gun matched the one found in the President's body."

"Do you expect me to deny what I've done?" Whitman questioned.

"Not at all," Ike said. "You're a narcissist, so it's not like you to deny what you've done. I fully expect you to come clean with everything."

Whitman raised his right eyebrow and nodded. "Excellent profiling, Agent. I must say, I'm impressed."

"Enough! Just talk about the murders, damn it."

"Sure. I don't mind. I killed Zelda while she was leaving the place she had performed at. She never saw it coming. I then killed Wario outside the club he was working at. I killed Magnus in front of Angel Bank late at night. I ran up to him, shot him three times, and then ran off."

"How did you kill the President?" Ike inquired.

"Patience, Agent," Whitman replied, "I'm getting there. Anyways, I got on the roof of my store, and waited until he came into my line of sight. And then I shot him. I knew he was going to be passing through because I'd heard about the speech he was going to that day. The timing was impeccable."

"Why _did _you kill all those people?" a puzzled Ike asked.

Whitman gave him a sideways glance. "I wanted to be somebody. How else could I become known to everyone in Smashville? I couldn't imagine doing anything else to become famous. And since I know you've been dying to ask: no, my wife had nothing to do with any of this. Like hell I'd let her have any credit for something this spectacular."

"You can't be serious."

"Did I disappoint you? I didn't mean to. I apologize if I did."

"Shut up," Ike snapped. "This interview's over. Let's get you out of here, and to where you belong."

Whitman didn't resist as he was dragged out of the interview room. He passed his wife, who was now sitting on a chair in the main part of the precinct. He smiled as he was hauled outside.

"Oh my God," Winnie gasped. "He really did kill all those people. Oh my God… oh my God!"

She suddenly broke out into a fit of sobbing. Samus held her and tried to give her some comfort. But the chances of Winnie accepting what her husband had done were non-existent. Her whole world had been shattered in minutes, and all she could do was try to put it back together.

* * *

Rob finished bagging the gun and its bullet. He handed it to a police officer, who promptly left to put it with the rest of the case's evidence. He then headed into Robin's office to talk to her and Lucina.

"Ike just finished talking to Whitman," Lucina revealed.

"How do you know?" Rob asked.

"We saw Ike getting him out of here," Robin chimed in. "Whitman looked calm… and happy."

"He's the type of killer who wants to be famous," Rob grumbled. "He's fine with going to jail 'cause it means bragging to the other inmates about what he did. Gods, it's disgusting."

"The whole case is disgusting," Lucina said. "I should call Ike to see what he says about the press release."

She excused herself from the room to make the phone call.

"So what happens to Caeda?" Robin asked curiously. "Do we have enough to arrest her?"

"Not really," Rob replied. "We only have statements from the medical examiner and the victim's mother. It's okay, but it's far from enough. It's also circumstantial. We'd never get a conviction with just those two pieces of evidence."

Robin groaned. "Oh, Gods. It doesn't help that the murder happened years ago. Here, I'll see if I can pull up crime scene photos."

With just a minute of typing, she managed to pull up three photos of the crime scene. Rob analyzed them carefully.

"Look at how his body's positioned away from the balcony," he said. "It's far away! If the body was closer, it'd look more like he'd simply fallen over. But given the distance from the balcony to his body, I'd say he was definitely pushed."

Robin nodded wordlessly.

"Maybe we _do_ have enough, after all," Rob added. "Then again…"

"Take a chance."

Rob gave his co-worker a confused look. "Come again?"

"Telling her everything we have may scare her into giving a confession," Robin suggested. "I know it's a long shot, but…"

"I'll call Ike and see what he says."

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Rob?" Ike asked. "This is a huge risk."

"Do you have any suggestions?" Rob countered. "We're at the end of our rope with that case. What can we do?"

Ike groaned as he ran one hand over his face. As much as he hated to admit it, Rob made an excellent point. The SBI simply couldn't wait around for more evidence to pop up in front of them. They needed to take that chance. They didn't have any other options to turn to; this was their last card, and they needed to play it.

"Alright, then," he said. "I'll call Caeda."

"Good," Rob replied. "I'm glad to hear that."

Once Ike hung up, Snake called him over.

"You're calling Caeda?" he asked.

"I'm about to," Ike revealed.

"Maybe I should," Snake said. "She might be suspicious if the SBI Unit Chief is inviting her over to talk. Plus, I have the perfect ruse."

"Be my guest, then."

Snake dialled Caeda's number and waited for her to answer. She picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello there. Is this Caeda?"

"Yes it is," she replied. "Who's calling?"

"This is Senior Supervisory Special Agent Snake," Snake said. "I'm calling because I need you to come to the police precinct."

"Haven't you guys interrogated me enough? What more do you need?" Caeda interrupted.

"Who said anything about questioning you?" Snake asked. "I'd like to update you on the case. We also have a few of your husband's things that we don't need anymore."

"I can pick up some of Marth's things?" Caeda seemed surprised to hear such news.

"Absolutely. I just need you to come by the precinct to do so. Is that alright with you?"

"Of course! I'll be there as soon as I can!"

Snake didn't let out a chuckle until a moment after Caeda had hung up. He set his phone down and let out a big sigh.

"She'll be here soon," he said.

"You should interview her, then," Ike replied. "I'll watch, just in case something happens."

"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure nothing will happen," Snake remarked. "Caeda has no idea what she's walking into."

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**Shana Hager: **_**All I can say is that I hope this chapter didn't disappoint!**

_**dragon0551:**_** I'm glad I shocked you with the killer's reveal.**

_**yolosaurus33: **_**Whitman is the name I gave for the male Wii Fit Trainer. Winnie is the name I gave for the female Wii Fit Trainer. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!**

_**MahNati:**_** LOL, I know you called it. XD Like I said in the first author's note, there's one more chapter left after this, just to tie up all loose ends. Robin's awesome, I know. I based Smashville's gun laws mostly off of the U.K.'s strict gun laws, and then kinda made some shit up. Luigi's a calm guy unlike the other men in the SBI. Him talking Whitman down suits him well, in my opinion. I'm happy to hear you loved the last chapter!**

**Please review, and don't forget to stay tuned for the final chapter! :D**

_\- Elizabeth_


	11. Chapter 10

**Hey there, guys! So, here it is... the final chapter of _Gone Away Like JFK_. I can't believe it's over. I'm beyond proud of this fanfic, so to see it come to an end is actually quite bittersweet. I just hope to God that this chapter doesn't disappoint!**

**As promised, these are the real-life crimes I borrowed inspiration from. Keep in mind I only borrowed little things, rather than every damn thing about the cases. I suggest to look them up when you have the chance to fully understand. Anyways, the cases are: the assassintion of John F. Kennedy (obviously, what with the title); the murder of John Lennon; the murder spree of Andrew Cunanan; and serial killer Belle Gunness.**

**I want to thank anyone and everyone that read, favourited, and/or followed this story. I also want to than those that reviewed this fanfic. This means guest reviewers, as well as the following readers (this is in no particular order, by the way): _Starryskys102, EchoMoonHuntress, Satsuki Inuyasha Imaizumi, MahNati, F-ZeroSamus, pk-smash-attack, Paradigm of Writing, MaskedGamer, Smash King24, ChaiCat17, Bluefoot, Shana Hager, dragon0551, Ignitious, yoloaurus, _and _Lady Paprika_. Again, thank you all so much for your support! :)**

**I own absolutely nothing.**

**Anyways, please read &amp; enjoy! :D**

* * *

Caeda never arrived at the precinct.

At first, the agents simply thought that she was running late. It was Friday in the afternoon, and traffic was usually terrible at that time. But by the time the sun had been replaced with the moon, Ike got worried.

"Something's not right," he said.

"No kidding," Snake grunted. "She's the First Lady, for God's sake. She's punctual on every occasion."

"I'll call the Parliament House to see if something happened," Rob piped up.

But before he could even pick up the phone, it rang. He answered it with a surprised look on his face.

"SSA Rob."

"Oh, I'm so glad you answered, Agent!" Captain Falcon exclaimed.

Rob had to pull the phone away from his ear because of Captain Falcon's loud voice. When he brought it back to his ear, he spoke again.

"Why? What's the matter?"

"Caeda… Caeda told us she was going to her room to get something. When I tried to get her down for dinner, she refused to leave. I thought she wasn't hungry, so I didn't push it. But now she's saying she'll never leave her room. Please talk some sense into her!"

"We're on our way," Rob said. He then abruptly hung up.

"Who was that?" Ike asked.

"That was Captain Falcon, head of the SSS," Rob revealed. "Caeda's barricaded herself in her room. She told Falcon that 'she'll never leave her room'. This doesn't sound good."

"We need to leave now."

The three agents found Luigi and Samus and briefed them on what just transpired. They quickly joined them in a fast ride to the Parliament House.

"Something is _definitely_ wrong," Luigi remarked on the way over.

"The guilt's gotten to her," Snake said. "She's cracking under all the pressure, and she doesn't know how to cope."

"There's only two ways that this is gonna end," Samus pointed out. "She'll either be arrested, or dead."

The male agents Samus was sharing a car with exchanged uneasy glances. They knew that she was right, but that didn't make them feel better at all.

* * *

The SBI entered the Parliament House to see the SSS pacing frantically. Ike caught Captain Falcon's attention, much to the latter's relief.

"Agents! God, am I ever glad you're here!" he bellowed.

"Where's Caeda's room?" Ike questioned.

Captain Falcon pointed to the left. "It's the door on the end of this hallway."

The agents forced the SSS into a separate room so that they wouldn't interfere. They then slowly crept up to Caeda's bedroom door.

"Caeda? This is the SBI," Ike called out. "Come out slowly with your hands up!"

"_No!_ I can't let you do that to me!" she cried.

"Caeda, it's Snake," Snake piped up. "I'm the one you last spoke on the phone with. Do you remember?"

There was a brief pause before he got his answer.

"Yes," she replied.

"I only wanted to update you on your husband's case," Snake added.

"You can tell me from there," Caeda sneered.

"We caught the killer! He's been arrested and charged with your husband's death."

The only response given to that was silence.

"Aren't you at least _satisfied_ with that? We caught your husband's killer! He'll never hurt another innocent person again."

Again, Snake and the rest of the SBI didn't get a response.

"Caeda," Ike said, "we need you to come and talk. We can talk this out. You shouldn't have to hide-"

_BANG!_

The sudden gunshot made all the agents fall to the ground.

"Is anyone hurt?" Ike asked.

None of the agents were wounded, making Ike suspicious. So they grabbed their weapons and stood strategically in the hallway.

"This is your last warning, Caeda!" Ike shouted. "Slowly exit with your hands up!"

No one heard a thing on the other side of the door. This forced them to prepare for the worse.

"We need to make entry," Snake muttered.

Ike nodded. "On my mark."

Once he gave out the hand signal, he and Rob both kicked down the door. The remaining agents rushed in behind them.

"SBI!" a few of the agents shouted.

It was Samus who made the grisly discovery.

"Over here, guys," she said.

Everyone walked over to find Caeda lying in a pool of her own blood. Most of the blood came from the back of her head, stating the obvious.

"She shot herself in the mouth," Rob announced.

Samus checked for a pulse, but found none.

"Time of death?"

"10:55 PM," Samus confirmed.

Some of the agents soon left to do different duties. Samus left to call the coroner to collect Caeda's body. Meanwhile, Ike and Luigi went to speak to the SSS. This meant that Snake and Rob were alone with Caeda's lifeless body.

"I didn't think it would end like this," Rob admitted.

"None of us did," Snake replied. "No one wanted this to end this way."

Rob's eyes wandered over her bedroom. They stopped at the sight of an open laptop. He walked over to see what was on it.

"She wrote a suicide note," he said.

Snake walked over to read it alongside him.

_I'm so sorry…_

_Or am I?_

_I don't even know anymore._

_Since I'm going to die, I might as well be honest, right?_

_The SBI thinks that I killed Roy, my first husband. When one of their agents questioned me about it, I told her to fuck off. I wasn't going to talk to them without my lawyer, and I told her so. I didn't want to get caught! I've been able to get away with this for so long- how could I possibly get caught now? I couldn't!_

_Roy needed to die. I had to kill the son of a bitch. That life insurance policy I made him get "just in case" was my true love- not him. I just wanted to get rich off him. I didn't want to work! Killing Roy for his insurance money was the easiest way for me to get rich._

_I wasn't gonna ever do something like that again until I met Marth. He didn't interest me at first because he looked kind of plain, and generally not my type. But when he told me that he was a Senator wanting to run for President, I wanted him. I didn't want his love. I wanted the money he was going to get with becoming the President._

_I wasn't surprised when he fell for me. I knew how to make him fall in love with me. I knew how to act like I loved him. That's why I wasn't surprised when we ended up getting married. His mother didn't care for me, but Marth dismissed it. I guess love blinded him enough to make him not care about her opinion._

_I convinced him to get us BOTH life insurance policies. I figured that if I got myself one as well, than it wouldn't look suspicious. I was surprised how easily Marth agreed to it. He never knew that his policy was worth more than mine because he let me take care of it. I was in charge of staying on top of our life insurance policies._

_But how was I to know that someone was going to kill Marth before I could?! I was so angry when he died! Yeah, I got a good chunk of that policy. But I didn't get the extra payout for his death being as accident, which is WHAT I WANTED. I deserved it, damn it! I deserved every penny of that damn policy._

_I can't live like this anymore. Ever since Marth died, all I've been worried about is the SBI finding out what I did. But you know what? I don't care anymore. This is my confession. I know they're going to probably read it, so why leave anything unwritten? That doesn't make sense, in my opinion._

_I'm going to end my life because I can't handle this anymore. The benefit of Roy's death is long gone, and I never got to fully benefit from Marth's death. I'd rather die than be stuck in a goddamn jail cell for the rest of my days. Death will be better than jail, that's for sure._

_I wish I could say that I'll be joining my ex-husbands in heaven, but we all know that's a lie._

_I'll see you in hell._

_\- Caeda_

"Holy shit," Rob sighed.

Snake let out a low whistle. "Well, she definitely killed Roy. _And_ she did want to kill Marth."

Rob sent it to Robin for further analysis. It wasn't really necessary anymore, but it couldn't hurt. He wanted to see if she spotted something that he and Snake had missed.

"This woman was a sociopath," he said. "A textbook sociopath."

"She chose death instead of jail," Snake mused. "That makes her a coward, too."

The men suddenly heard angry shouting coming from outside the bedroom. They didn't have to look out in the hall to now that the SSS had just learned of Caeda's death.

"They had nothing to do with either death," Rob pointed out.

"True," Snake said. "They're victims too, when you think about it. Caeda managed to play them- as well as Marth and Roy- for fools."

"What's gonna happen to them now?"

"Only time will tell, Rob. We should leave so that the M.E. can do her job."

Rob nodded. "Let's go, then."

* * *

"The SBI has arrested the person responsible for killing the President of Smashville, Marth. This person has also killed other innocent people before assassinating the President. We are confident that we have the correct person in custody. He has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He will be punished to the full extent of the law for his crimes."

As soon as Lucina finished her statement, journalists began asking her questions. Before she could pick someone from the crowd, Rob passed her a piece of paper. On it revealed the less than happy news about Caeda.

"I've just received some sad news," she began.

At this, the press became quiet.

"I regret to inform you that First Lady Caeda was found dead in her home tonight. The coroner has already determined that her death was a suicide."

Shouts of shock and sadness began to erupt from the crowd. Some journalists managed to compose themselves enough to try and ask questions.

"The SBI will investigate the circumstances of the First Lady's death," Lucina said. "We hope to answer some of our questions once we know everything. This will happen at a later date. That's why, we will not be taking any questions now. Thank you."

With that, she high tailed inside SBI headquarters, much to the press' dismay. All they could do now was speculate on what little information they had been given.

Lucina headed to Ike's office. She knocked twice on his door.

"Come in," he said.

"Hello, Sir," Lucina greeted. "I just wanted to know if you felt as though I did well with the press release."

"You always do well," Ike replied. "I'm never worried. You did great tonight like always."

"Thank you. Although I do have one question, if you don't mind my asking."

"What might that be?"

"Why do you want the media to focus on Caeda's suicide instead of Whitman's arrest? I'm not disagreeing with your choice, but I am confused about it."

Ike's eyes hardened. "Whitman wanted to become famous by killing all those innocent people. Why in the hell would I give him what he wanted? And yes, I'd like the media to ignore Caeda too, but it won't work. The public's gonna learn a lot about her that's gonna destroy her reputation quickly. So I'm not too worried about what's to come."

Lucina nodded. "I understand. I apologize if my question made you… uncomfortable."

"Don't apologize, Lucina. You have every right to ask whatever you want. I'm just glad you've managed to handle everything while we were away. You were incredible."

"Thank you, Sir! By the way, I have a couple case files that I need you to glance over when you have a moment. I picked two that I think you'll be interested in."

"Just drop them off on my desk when you get the chance. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Sir."

When Lucina left his office, Ike couldn't help but groan loudly.

_There's always another case after the one that's finished,_ he thought.

* * *

Even though Robin was done work for the day, she hadn't left her office. She'd already shut down her computers and bid Lucina goodbye. But she still couldn't bring herself to get up and leave the room. She just sat in her seat on the brink of tears.

"You're still here?"

"Yep," Robin replied without moving.

Rob walked over and sat in the other office chair. "What's wrong?"

"Ugh, it's nothing."

"Don't you lie to me, baby girl. You know I don't buy that bullshit."

Robin groaned. Times like this made her annoyed that she and Rob were so close. He could read her so easily, and vice versa.

"I know the case has been stressful," Rob said. "It's been stressful on everyone, believe me."

"That's not it," Robin admitted. "Well… that's not _all_ of it, if we're being honest."

"So what's the matter then?"

"I… can't help but wonder if people actually love each other anymore. I feel like people actually being in love is rarer than a blue moon. Gods, I don't know what else to say! It makes me wonder if love even _exists_ anymore. Does it still exist, Rob? Or is love just a word that has lost its once powerful meaning?"

Rob looked startled by what his colleague had just admitted. He blinked as he tried to comprehend it all.

"I'm sorry for dumping all this on you out of nowhere," a now embarrassed Robin added. "I just needed to let this go, and it feels wonderful! I feel as though a huge weight as been lifted off my shoulders! I had to do that, or else I was gonna explode. At least, I think I would have."

"Love does exist, Robin. I myself have not yet experienced it, but I'm confident in my belief. The reason you doubt love's existence is because of people like Whitman and Caeda. If Whitman truly loved his wife, he wouldn't have become a serial killer. If Caeda loved either ex-husband, she wouldn't have become a serial killer. She probably wouldn't have married Marth in the first place, too. But believe me when I say that love _does_ exist. Does that make you feel any better?"

"It does. Thank you, Rob. I wanna apologize for my outburst. I-"

Robin was cut off by a sudden kiss to her left temple. Her facial expression went from content to surprise in a nanosecond.

"Don't apologize, love," Rob said. "I hate seeing you upset. Now, what say we join the rest of the team out for some fun? We've all earned it."

"I'd like that. I'd like that a lot, actually. Thank you."

The two agents finally left to join their colleagues and friends for a night out.

The End

* * *

**There ya go! I hope you all enjoyed it. :)**

**Review Responses:**

_**Shana Hager: **_**And I hope _this_ chapter didn't disappoint either!**

_**Guest:**_** Thank you! Snake is older, so it makes sense that the rest of the team would see him as a father figure of sorts. I'm sad this is over, too. I have no idea what to write next, to be honest. I'll post a poll about it soon, hopefully.**

_**MahNati:**_** Maybe this chapter answered your question regarding a twist? XD LOL, you and your obsession for Robin x Robin. It's so cute! To answer your question about Whitman, he panicked. He's a killer, it's what he does. I feel like he didn't want to get caught at first because he still wanted to kill. But when Luigi was like, "Don't you want everyone to know what you did?", Whitman was like, "Hell yeah!" because he killed people to become famous. To sum it up, he panicked because he wasn't totally sure about getting caught until Luigi brought up becoming famous. I hope that answers your question.**

_**EchoMoonHuntress:**_** I know, right? Poor Winnie indeed. She did nothing to deserve having her life destroyed by her husband's actions. It is quite poetic, when you think about it. Glad you like the previous chapter!**

**Please review, and don't forget to check out all of my other fanfics! :D**

**With all my love,**

_\- Elizabeth_


End file.
